In 2022, Tourism Research Australia (TRA) celebrates 35 years as the official provider of Australian tourism insights.
TRA was established in 1987 through an agreement between Australia’s federal, state and territory governments. Its mission: to build a national understanding of the tourism landscape.
The partnership with states and territories has continued right through the 35 years. That partnership generates data, through TRA, that helps to underpin government tourism policy. TRA’s findings also help to improve the performance of Australia’s tourism industry.
These activities and insights benefit the thousands of Australian communities that rely on income from tourism.
A world-class statistical contribution
TRA contributes to national statistics. Its and are inputs to Australia’s System of . They are used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to calculate wider statistical metrics like exports and household expenditure.
TRA also contributes to the global understanding of tourism. A TRA representative sits on the . Data is provided annually for both OECD and World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) publications.
Why is tourism data so important?
Relevant, timely and reliable data helps business, investors and governments make better decisions and plan for the future.
The national long-term strategy for the visitor economy, THRIVE 2030 emphasises the importance of research, data and insights. One of its actions is the formation of the Industry Data and Expert Analysis (IDEA) Working Group.
Led by TRA, the IDEA Working Group will identify industry data needs and growth areas. With the ‘big data’ landscape growing rapidly, there is potential for more detailed, timely data to help operators meet visitor expectations. The working group will:
- investigate data collection methods and activities and suggest improvements
- deliver data-driven insights to inform government policy, underpin business improvement and build investor confidence.
How TRA helps businesses in the visitor economy
TRA equips business with information to strengthen marketing, product development, investment and other decisions. TRA’s team of data scientists and research analysts produce robust tourism research and analysis, including:
- results from the and , with
- the , which assesses industry performance and emerging trends
- key information about travellers, such as demographics, expenditure, places visited, visitor activities, accommodation and transportation
- annual forecasts of and tourism activity
- data on and employment, and
- international education data.
TRA data and insights are published regularly. They can also be accessed through the and bespoke data services can be provided on an hourly rate.
Learn more
Visit the and subscribe to their email newsletter to stay up-to-date with the latest tourism data and insights.
Visit THRIVE 2030 to learn more about this industry-led, government enabled strategy to support Australia’s visitor economy
