Australians are back to spending big on holidays, travel and eating out since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The statistics should come as welcome news by Kiama business owners, where it's no secret how reliant the local economy is on outside visitors.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its findings on household spending since 2019, finding that overall spending by each household grew six per cent in April compared to the previous year. 

Tourism, including hotels, travel and restaurants, were the big winners this month, with each household spending 13.4 per cent more in 2023 than in 2022.

According to Destination NSW, an estimated 400,000 domestic tourists visit the Kiama LGA each year for at least one night, spending a total of $207 million, while day visitors spent another $48 million in the region alone.

It’s not all green fields for the economy, however, as the increase in household spending is levelling out as the economy recovers in the wake of the pandemic. Tourist spending hit a peak of 69.9 per cent in August 2022, but this time frame also includes the busy Christmas trading period.

ABS head of business indicators, Kate Lamb, actually pinned the relatively small overall growth of six per cent on the slowdown in hotel, cafe and restaurant spending, which will continue to normalise after the pandemic.

With the King's Birthday long weekend and Winter Festival coming up soon, Kiama's small businesses are well poised to capitalise on the incoming influx of visitors headed our way.