Tourism Research Australia data published in October 2026 shows New South Wales generated more than $12 billion from culinary tourism in 2025, confirming it as the country’s largest food tourism economy by both visitor numbers and expenditure.

The Numbers

Domestic overnight food tourism visitors to NSW reached 5.1 million in 2025, spending $5.6 billion. International culinary visitors numbered 1.2 million, spending $6.6 billion, a 21 per cent increase in international spending year-on-year. International visitor numbers grew 5.7 per cent over the same period.

The most popular culinary experience among domestic visitors was fine dining, chosen by 56 per cent, followed by food markets at 43 per cent. For international visitors, local food markets ranked first at 62 per cent, ahead of fine dining at 53 per cent.

The Tripadvisor Future Foodist report, referenced alongside the Tourism Research Australia data, found that travellers are increasingly building entire trips around food experiences rather than treating eating as incidental to travel.

What This Means for WA Operators

The market signal here is specific and worth noting. For international visitors to NSW, food markets ranked above fine dining. That preference for direct, place-based, producer-led experiences over formal restaurant settings is the same dynamic that drives agritourism visitation. Visitors want to know where food comes from and to meet the people who grow it. That is an on-farm proposition, not a restaurant one.

For WA agritourism operators, two practical observations follow.

First, if you offer a produce market, farm gate sales, or a harvest experience, you are already operating in the highest-demand category for international culinary visitors. The NSW data suggests this is not a niche preference but a majority one. If you are not actively marketing that component of your operation to international visitors, or to inbound tour operators who serve them, the data supports doing so.

Second, the NSW result is partly an infrastructure story. Destination NSW has invested in operator training and market exposure over several years to reach this position. WAAA was established in 2024 to build exactly that capability, including operator training, a vetted adviser network, and collective marketing of WA agritourism. It is small and volunteer-led compared with a state tourism agency with government backing, and closing that gap depends on more operators joining and contributing to the work.

The culinary tourism market WA could be targeting is demonstrably large. The question for each operator is whether their property is visible and positioned to attract it.