Australia targets W70tr in visitor spending with 'Tourism 2035' strategy

Australia is launching a long-term strategy to strengthen its global tourism competitiveness and capture the high-value travel market over the next decade.

Tourism Australia unveiled a 10-year plan called "Tourism 2035," aimed at generating demand for travel to Australia and boosting its global competitiveness. The agency set a target to grow total spending by high-value overnight visitors from around A$33 billion (about 34 trillion won) to as much as A$69 billion, or 70 trillion won, by 2035.

Tourism Australia identified 10 shifts in the global travel market expected to shape international tourism demand and Australia's competitiveness: intensifying competition for high-value travelers, growth of the Asian travel market, growing preference for diverse travel experiences, the tourism impact of major international events, changes in air access and travel costs, travel uncertainty driven by geopolitical, economic and climate conditions, diversification of travel information search and booking channels, fragmentation of consumer attention due to rising digital content, growing interest in travel with a positive social and environmental impact, and increasing preference for nature-immersive travel.

In response, Tourism Australia will pursue four strategic priorities over the first three years: marketing that accounts for both consumers and AI algorithms, showcasing Australia's diverse travel experiences, creating tourism opportunities through major international events, and establishing a distinctive luxury travel proposition unique to Australia.

As generative AI and search algorithms play a growing role in how travelers discover and choose destinations, Tourism Australia plans to run marketing campaigns designed to position Australia as a top recommendation not only to consumers but within algorithmic environments. The agency also aims to move beyond Australia's traditional image of beaches and natural scenery, promoting a wider range of experiences — food, wine, Indigenous culture and regional tourism — while highlighting travel routes by air, car, rail and cruise to encourage longer stays and broader geographic spread.

Tourism Australia will also leverage major sporting and cultural events, including the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics, to extend tourism demand beyond the host city to other states and regions. In line with trends toward deeper connections with nature and cultural immersion, the agency plans to promote a distinctive luxury travel offering built on Australia's unique tourism assets.

Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison said "Tourism 2035 is a strategy to generate demand for travel to Australia and convert it into high-value visits — by responding to the changes shaping traveler choices, actively embracing technology, and at the same time strengthening partnerships and collaboration across the tourism industry." She added, "Our vision is for Australia to be the destination that travelers around the world dream of first and ultimately choose."

Meanwhile, the number of South Koreans who visited Australia in the 12 months to June 2026 reached 407,600, up 9.1 percent from 373,500 in the same period a year earlier, making South Korea Australia's eighth-largest source market.