For Brenda Miley, the founder and surf school director of North Bondi-based Let's Go Surfing, the fall in the Australian dollar is great news for a business that is heavily reliant on inbound tourism.
"We're experiencing about a 40 per cent increase in our inbound markets of the US, UK, Europe and the China market that we are starting to get traction in," she said. "The lower Australian dollar is influencing people coming back to Australia."
Tourism Research Australia this week reported spending by overseas travellers had grown by 10 per cent to a record $33.4 billion in the year ended June 30 – the highest level of growth since the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
The fall in the Australian dollar isn't good news for those planning a trip to the United States or Europe, but it is bringing benefits to the economy in the form of higher spending by inbound tourists and an increase in the number of Australians planning domestic holidays. Tour operators are taking advantage of the demand by creating new tailored packages aimed at foreigners.
Let's Go Surfing, whose clients range from backpackers buying a $99 lesson to wealthy tourists willing to pay $649 per person for a luxury experience, now offers a history of Bondi tour for those wary of actually getting into the water.
"Getting into the surf was a barrier for some people but they wanted to have an Aussie beach experience," Ms Miley said. "We developed a dry tour that enabled them to learn about our history."
Ben Neville, the owner and operator of Off Piste 4WD Tours in South Australia's McLaren Vale region, says he is also experiencing strong bookings from the US market and steady demand from the UK.
As a result, he has developed a new four day, three night tour package in collaboration with fellow operator Exceptional Kangaroo Island targeted at high-yielding tourists. The package is priced at $2555 per person, all inclusive.
"With all of the market research we've done it seems to resonate quite well with what visitation is forecast for from those markets," he said.
Larger operators like AAT Kings, which runs popular day trips as well as guided holidays, are also reporting improved market conditions due to the fall in the dollar.
AAT Kings managing director Anthony Hayes said forward bookings by Australians had jumped by more than 10 per cent since more were deciding to travel closer to home.
"We are certainly seeing very strong numbers for domestic destinations like the Northern Territory and Tasmania and good growth into New Zealand as well," he said.
Mr Hayes said international visitors were unlikely to travel to Australia simply because of the drop in the currency since it isn't well publicised outside the region, but they were poised to spend more when they arrived.
"We will start to see them buying additional tours, or if they were going to do a 10 day tour, they will say they can now afford a 15 day tour," he said. "[For day trippers] they will say we won't just go to the Blue Mountains, we will also go to the Hunter Valley."
