Rental investors in Australia could be set to benefit from a surge in tourist numbers this year, new research has suggested.
A poll by marketing firm The Network found that almost one in five independent travel agents in the UK were expecting the country to attract more visitors in 2008.
Meanwhile, more than one in three companies are expecting the global tourism market to increase by as much as ten per cent this year.
This means that owners of investment property in the most popular Australian tourist spots could see a significant increase in demand for rental accommodation over the next few months.
As a result, many will be likely to collect greater rental yields than they did in 2007 and enjoy higher occupancy rates.
The findings come after figures from the Tourism and Transport Forum showed that Australia attracted a record number of visitors last year.
Statistics cited by TravelMole revealed that the country attracted about 5.6 million leisure travellers in 2007.