Melbourne Economy Snapshot

Key insights include: ​​​

• Latest highlights from our Economic Development Strategy 2031​ show the economy is up by almost five per cent to $114 billion, jobs are on the rise and shopfront vacancies more than halved.  
• Melbourne continues to attract major drawcard events boosting night-time activity and spending across the city. 
• Docklands beat records during the 2023 festive period with spending and pedestrian activity at its highest since 2018. 
• AFL fans increase spending in Docklands by up to 30 per cent on game days.

​Key insights include:

• International travellers are flocking to the city and visitor spend is increasing significantly.
• More people are calling our city home - spending, working and investing in the local economy.
• Our city's capacity as a smart place to do business continues to grow as the knowledge economy thrives.
• Dog registrations have increased by 81 per cent, presenting opportunities to engage in the lucrative pet-care industry.

Key insights include:​

• More Melbourne businesses are choosing to enhance their retail and hospitality offerings, with permit approvals for businesses upgrades nearly doubling in the past year and trending towards pre-pandemic levels.​
• Our tourism sector is thriving, with more than 10,000 additional hotel rooms compared to 2019. ​
• The city is the place to be in winter – day and night – with visitor activity increasing leading up to and during night-time events including the QVM Winter Night Market and RISING.
• Spending in the city continues to grow – led by the tourism and entertainment sectors. Some parts of the economy have been slower to recover, including personal services such as hairdressers and beauty businesses.

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​Key insights include:

• Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are the busiest days for commuters.  
• Students are returning, thriving and spending. Their return has coincided with an increase in spending across the city. 
• ​Businesses are responding to changing trends by tweaking their operating days, with more now open over the weekend. 
• Our night-time economy continues to go from strength to strength, supported by major events such as concerts, Moomba and the Grand Prix. ​

​Key insights include: 

• A record $1.1 billion was spent across the city in December.  
• Friday and Saturday are now our busiest days. 
• Weekday spending is as strong as pre-pandemic.  
• ​Our night-time economy continues to flourish.