The annual tennis tournament has turned inner Melbourne into a summer playground, with riverside bars packed, hotel lobbies full and CBD restaurants reporting their strongest January in years as international and interstate visitors arrive earlier and stay longer. What began as a two week sporting event has evolved into a three week citywide festival, and this extended program is helping transform what was once a quiet month, when many locals normally head away, into the busiest trading period of the year for central city venues.
Economists and industry groups say the hospitality sector is the clear winner, with more than 1.2 million people expected to pass through Melbourne Park by the end of the men’s final, and bank analysts projecting a record $600 million injection into the Victorian economy, up from about $566 million tied to last year’s shorter tournament. CBD hotels are enjoying their strongest start to the year since before the pandemic, with some premium properties running above 95% occupancy and charging nightly room rates that can reach into the thousands, which is helping lift average revenue per room by around 20% compared with last summer. At the same time, Melbourne Airport is still riding the momentum of a record December, when about 3.4 million passengers moved through its terminals and more than 5500 international flights landed as multiple overseas airlines expanded their services into the city.
The broader picture, however, looks more complicated. Analysts point out that while the Australian Open delivers a powerful tourism “sugar hit”, it does little to repair Victoria’s underlying fiscal challenges, with the state’s economic growth recently tracking below the national average and government debt projected to climb toward roughly $240 billion, which is more than double annual operating revenue, by the end of the decade. Recent bushfires across regional areas, which have destroyed hundreds of structures and triggered insured losses estimated in the hundreds of millions, add another strain, even as state and federal governments pledge tens of millions of dollars in support packages for affected communities and farmers. The tennis driven visitor surge appears to be keeping cash registers ringing across bars, hotels and city events for now, but once the crowds fly home, Victoria still seems to be facing the hard work of rebuilding regions, managing debt and finding more sustainable sources of growth beyond one blockbuster summer tournament.
