International visitors and Indigenous cultural activities

Between January and March 2006, about 200,000 international visitors experienced one or more Indigenous cultural activities while in Australia, according to Tourism Research Australia.

These activities included:

• going on a tour with an Indigenous guide
• staying in Indigenous accommodation
• visiting an Indigenous cultural centre
• visiting an Indigenous gallery
• attending an Indigenous festival
• attending an Indigenous dance or theatre performance
• visiting an Indigenous art and craft or cultural display
• visiting an Indigenous site or community.

The most popular Indigenous experience was visiting an Indigenous art and craft or cultural display, with 54 per cent undertaking this activity.

International visitors experiencing selected Indigenous activities, January–March 2006

Source: Tourism Research Australia, Sharing Culture: Indigenous Experiences and the International Visitor.

Between January and March 2006, over 129,000 international visitors bought Indigenous art or craft in Australia. They represented 10 per cent of total international visitors and they spent $11.4 million on these purchases.

About 63,000 of those who bought Indigenous art or craft undertook an Indigenous activity. In addition, over 77,000 visitors bought Indigenous souvenirs other than art or craft.

Source

Tourism Research Australia, Sharing Culture: Indigenous Experiences and the International Visitor.

Links

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2009, Tourism (cat. no. 4172.0).

Tourism Research Australia, Snapshot: Indigenous Tourism Visitors in Australia 2008

Tourism Research Australia, Snapshot: Cultural and Heritage Tourism in Australia 2008.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: Involvement in Arts and Culture, 2001 and 2002 (cat. no. 4721.0).

Australia Council, The Arts Economy 1968–1998: Three Decades of Growth in Australia (Guldberg 2000).