International students buck negative tourism trend

An article in the Sydney Morning Herald on 7 June 2008 paints a gloomy picture of the trends in tourist visits to Australia. In the year to the end of March 2008 80,000 fewer arrivals specified that the purpose of their visit was for a holiday, compared to the same period last year. The downward trend is not surprising given current pressures in the global economy, including the credit crunch and a very strong Australian dollar.

The good news for CRICOS providers and others involved in international student recruitment is that the upward trend in the arrival of international students remains strong. The number of inbound students grew by 10% in the period.

According to the DIAC 2006-07 Annual Report the total number of student visa grants in 2005-06 was 190 674. In 2006-07 it was 228 592, constituting a very substantial increase of 19.89%. It will be interesting to see if the strength of that trend has been maintained over the 2007-08 financial year. We'll follow up and report back on this issue as soon as the DIAC 2007-08 Annual report is released.