According to the latest Deloitte Access Economics’ Retail Forecasts report, international tourist visitation to Australia is at an all time high, with spending by tourists also growing.
International spending is led by Chinese tourists who already spend approximately $1.4 billion per year.
During the 2015-16 financial year, tourist expenditure (including domestic and international tourists) totalled around $130 billion.
Retail spending accounted for around 39.7% of this, including $15.6 billion (12.0%) on non-food retailing.
Deloitte Access Economics partner David Rumbens said retail could expect steady improvement in 2017, with international spending playing a key factor.
“Overall, real (inflation-adjusted) retail sales growth was 2.0% for the year to December 2016.
“We expect a steady improvement in retail sales through 2017 which is forecast to grow by 2.4% for the year to December 2017, then by 2.7% over 2018.
“International tourist visitation in Australia is at record highs, and spending by tourists is exploding as well. The strong growth in tourism over recent years is expected to continue during 2017, adding a key supplementary market for Australian retailers.”
Further insights from the report revealed that 2016 saw a decrease in the amount full‑time jobs in Australia which shrank by 56,100, while part-time jobs rose by 159,400.