Visitors to Australia up 6% on last year

AUSTRALIA enjoyed the benefit of more than 2.5 million visitors during the first seven months of 1999 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

This represents a 6 per cent increase on the same period last year.

The increase in travellers to our shores is due largely to the depreciation of the Australian dollar against the US dollar.

This also impacted on Aust-ralian departures in 1997/98.

The depreciation made holidays to the UK and the US relatively more expensive resulting in a 7 per cent and 6 per cent decline in travellers to these nations respectively.

The dollar has appreciated against many Asian currencies evident by a 32 per cent increase in travel to Thailand and an 8 per cent increase in travel to Indonesia.