Tourism still going strong

New statistics indicate the Australian tourism industry is enjoying its strongest growth in almost a decade, The Age reports.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows the industry is now worth $85 billion to the economy, an increase in 7.8 per cent on 2005-2006 figures.

Domestic consumption increased by 6.8 per cent while international tourism grew by 9.8 per cent over the period.

Despite the encouraging figures tourism experts say the industry must continue to innovate in order to remain strong during difficult international economic conditions.