In an attempt to entice more visitors from the west to Australia, Tourism Australia is set to splurge $40 million next year on a marketing campaign promoting Australian beaches and aquatic attractions.

Last year’s campaign which focussed on food and wine, resulted in a 40% jump on spending in the restaurant sector to $700 million. Tourism Australia hopes the new multi-platform campaign, to be launched early next year will do the same.

Spending across all other tourist sectors rose this year as visitor numbers from the 20 top source countries posted new highs. China continued to lead the growth with huge increases; visitor numbers are up 22 per cent to 896,000, nights up 25 per cent to 39.3 million and spend up a huge 43 per cent to $7.7 billion. A record 953,200 Chinese tourists visited Australian shores in the year to August, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, nudging close to New Zealand’s 1.29 million.

Tourism Australia, is now aiming to broaden the markets by touting Australia’s aquatic and coastal experiences, something it believes will appeal particularly to visitors from the west. It is hoping that the campaign will also draw people out of the capital cities into coastal towns.

Promotional materials for the campaign, which will include virtual reality and 360 mobile assets as well as a new broadcast ad and other print and digital materials, have been shot in locations such as Rottnest Island in Western Australia, Katherine in the Northern Territory and the Three Capes Walk in Tasmania, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Analysts warn that labour and skills remain the greatest supply side challenge in terms of growing the Australian tourism industry. Australia needs an extra 123,000 workers - including 60,000 skilled workers - by 2020, according to a report by Deloitte Access Economics commissioned by Austrade

The Productivity Commission is currently looking at labour force mobility. Austrade believes that any changes to wage floors for 457 visa workers could have sweeping effects on Australia’s hotels, restaurants and cafes by making it easier for owners to hire staff from overseas and attract workers to regional tourist hubs.