DINING A TOP PRIORITY FOR DOMESTIC TOURISTS

Data from the most recent National Visitor Survey (NVS) released in June showed an increase in domestic tourists’ overnight spend on restaurant and takeaway meals, both in terms of the dollar amount and as a proportion of overall expenditure.

For the year ending March 2018, domestic tourists spent $10.6 billion on meals from restaurants and takeaway food outlets, up from $9.7 billion for the corresponding 12 months in 2017. This represents percentage growth of 9.3 per cent year-on-year.

The total expenditure on restaurant and takeaway meals represented roughly 16.3 per cent of the overall overnight spend by domestic tourists of $65.1 billion for the year ending March 2018. This has also increased from 15.8 per cent for the year ending March 2017.

Restaurant & Catering Australia (R&CA) CEO Juliana Payne says that the increasing overnight expenditure on restaurant and takeaway meals reflects the changing priorities of domestic tourists when planning their trips away.

“Each time we see a new set of visitor survey figures come out, the expenditure on restaurant and takeaway meals continues to rise both as a dollar figure and as a proportion.

“After accommodation, domestic tourists’ next biggest expense item for overnight trips is restaurant and takeaway meals. When you look at the figures for day-trippers, the proportion spent on restaurant and takeaway meals is even higher at 22.9 per cent.

“This data confirms that dining out at cafés and restaurants is one of the biggest priorities for domestic tourists alongside choosing a place to stay,” Juliana says.