Tourism Research Australia has released its 2023–24 State Tourism Satellite Account, which reports on the direct and indirect economic contribution of tourism for all states and territories.

Australia’s tourism sector continued to grow in 2023-24, with visitor consumption, employment and overall economic contribution increasing and continuing to exceed pre-pandemic levels. Growth was driven by increasing international arrivals and steady domestic travel.

Total tourism consumption reached $198.5 billion, an 8.2 per cent increase from 2022-23 and 25 per cent higher than 2018-19. All states and territories experienced growth, with NSW seeing one of the largest increases in overall tourism consumption.

Tourism directly contributed $78.1 billion to Gross State Product (GSP) in Australia, a 9.1 per cent rise on the previous year. Including indirect effects, tourism’s total contribution to the economy reached $158 billion in 2023-24. Tourism’s direct share of the national economy was 2.9 per cent, marking tourism as a key driver of local and national growth.

Tourism employment in Australia grew to an estimated 691,500 direct filled jobs during the period, a 5.7 per cent increase from 2022-23, outpacing overall jobs growth. When indirect jobs are included, tourism supported almost 1.2 million jobs nationwide. NSW saw some of the largest employment gains in the nation compared with 2022-23.

NSW’s tourism contribution

In 2023–24 NSW recorded the highest level of total tourism consumption in Australia. Total tourism GSP (both direct and indirect) was worth $48.2 billion to the NSW economy (up 13 per cent on 2022-23 and up 26 per cent on 2018-19).

Direct tourism GSP in NSW was worth $23.9 billion (up 12 per cent on 2022-23 and up 30 per cent on 2018-19). This was a 2.9 per cent direct share of total state GSP (up 0.2 per cent points on 2022-23 and in line with 2018-19)

Indirect tourism GSP was worth an extra $24.3 billion to the NSW economy (up 13 per cent on 2022-23 and up 23 per cent on 2018-19)

In 2023–24 the contribution of tourism to the overall NSW economy, Gross Value Added (GVA) - both direct and indirect - was worth $41.7 billion (up 12 per cent on 2022-23 and up 25 per cent on 2018-19).

Direct tourism GVA in NSW was worth $20.2 billion (up 14 per cent on 2022-23 and up 29 per cent on 2018-19). This was a 2.7 per cent direct share of total state GVA (up 0.2 percentage points on 2022-23 and down 0.1 per cent point on 2018-19)

Indirect tourism GVA was worth an extra $21.5 billion to the NSW economy (up 11 per cent on 2022-23 and up 22 per cent on 2018-19)

Total state GVA was worth $761.9 billion (up 5.3 per cent on 2022-23 and up 32 per cent on 2018-19).

In 2023–24 total tourism filled jobs (both direct and indirect) totalled 328,200 in NSW (up 9.4 per cent on 2022-23 and up 12 per cent on 2018-19). This was the highest number of direct tourism filled jobs in the country.

View the full report here.