08 December 2009
Record number heading overseas
The number of Australians travelling overseas reached record levels in October, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Departures grew 19.6% to 547,700 in October as outbound demand continued to rise, albeit off a smaller base in October 2008 as the industry felt the full brunt of the downturn.
Tourism and Transport Forum executive director, Brett Gale, said: “As recently as 2004 there were a million more arrivals to Australia than departures. In the last 12 months departures outnumbered arrivals by almost 600,000.”
" Travel Weekly "