Engagement in OECD, G20 and APEC Fora on Tourism

The travel and tourism sector is one of the most heavily impacted sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic, with international tourist arrivals declining by 73 per cent in 2020 (Rome communique, G20 Tourism Ministers' Meeting, 4 May 2021). DFAT is active in multilateral tourism bodies with a current focus on international tourism recovery.

Australia is a world-leading tourist destination. Our tourism sector contributes $152 billion to our economy, supports more than 300,000 businesses and employs more than 660,000 Australians.

How does DFAT support Australian tourism?

DFAT seeks to advance Australia's tourism priorities, share insights and distribute global best practice models through multilateral tourism bodies. These include the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism Working Group, the G20 Tourism Working Group, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Tourism Committee.

Given the significant impacts of COVID-19 on global tourism, the focus of our work in these fora is on tourism recovery. We cooperate closely with Austrade and Tourism Australia.