On Tuesday the Australian Bureau of Statistics released its tourism figures for the month of June.
According to the release, Australia welcomed 733,100 short term visitors during the month, an increase of 6.3% on the prior corresponding period.
Whilst this is slightly slower growth than in recent months, it is still a significant increase that I believe shows that the tourism boom is still very much in full swing.
The biggest driver of this growth was once again tourism from China. In June there were 114,300 visitors from China, up 10.9% on the prior corresponding period.
This large increase meant that Chinese visitor numbers have now overtaken those of New Zealand, which provided Australia with 110,900 visitors during the month.
Elsewhere, strong growth was witnessed from the United States. Short term arrivals from the U.S. grew 13.7% to 66,500.
Judging by data released by Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) this morning, it looks as though tourism in July has been just as strong.
According to its latest traffic performance for the month of July, Sydney Airport saw a 6.7% increase in international traffic.
But it's not just Sydney Airport that is likely to be benefitting from the tourism boom.
I believe companies such as Mantra Group Ltd (ASX: MTR), Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN), Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR), and Event Hospitality and Entertainment Ltd (ASX: EVT) are all likely to see an increase in demand for accommodation.
As demand increases I expect this to result in higher occupancy levels and increased average room rates, ultimately boosting their bottom line growth.
My pick of the bunch is Mantra due to its cheap price and generous dividend, but arguably all the shares above are worth taking a closer look at.
