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The tourism industry boosted the economy of Australia by £23.3bn (£10.8bn) in 2007, a 6% increase on the previous year, according to new figures.

Statistics from the latest International Visitors in Australia survey also showed that both foreign visitor numbers and spending reached record levels.

Geoff Buckley, managing director of Tourism Australia, said the figures confirmed that the country's strategies to encourage visitors to spend more time on holiday were working.

Mr Buckley also revealed that some of the largest increases in spending by visitors came from India, Malaysia, China and New Zealand.

He added: 'The UK remained Australia's largest single market in terms of economic value worth $3.5bn, followed by New Zealand ($2.3bn), the US ($2.1bn) and China ($2bn) for the 2007 calendar year.'

Despite the success of the Australian travel industry last year, Mr Buckley said that it will need to continue its hard work in order to overcome the challenges that are expected in 2008.

'Over the coming year our activities in 23 international markets will be looking to ensure that Australia continues to attract high spending international travellers – helping to ensure that Australia continues to reap the benefits from tourism,' he said.

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