First Nations tourism hit record highs last financial year, with both international and domestic numbers soaring past pre-pandemic highs.
The latest Tourism Research Australia (TRA) report showed there were three million trips taken in 2023-24 that incorporated First Nations activities, the highest annual number of trips on record.
The report showed of last year’s trips 63 percent, or around 1.9 million, were by domestic travellers, registering 1,223,300 overnight tand 664,000 day trips.
It stated 37 percent, around 1.1 million trips, were by international visitors.
In the year before international borders shut for COVID, there were 2.4 million trips, with 1.4 million domestic and 1 million international.
The report found, last year, international visitors from Europe (25 percent) and the United States and Canada (22 percent) were the most likely to incorporate a First Nations activity in their trip.
“Visiting an Aboriginal site or community was the most popular First Nations activity for domestic travellers in 2023–24,” the report stated.
“Experiencing an Aboriginal art/craft or cultural display was the most popular First Nations activity for international travellers.”
Among the states, Queensland recorded the second highest number of domestic overnight trips, that incorporated a First Nations activity, from 2021–22 to 2023–24, with an average of 220,00 trips each year, pipped by News South Wales with an average of 240,000.
Download the report: First Nations Tourism October 2024
