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Industry Facts & Figures

THE RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY

Australia reputation for world class dining is well known 26% of international tourists select Australia as a tourist destination on the basis of its food.

The ATO reported that 29,551 businesses had registered for the GST by the beginning of the 2001 calendar year.

The industry turns over $9.3 Billion and spends $2.917 Billion on wages and salaries and $2.9 Billion on food product.

The overall average profit for a restaurant, cafe or caterer, before tax is 1.5%.

The industry employs 217,400 people.

91% of all restaurant and catering businesses employ less that 20 people.

CUISINE STYLES:

According to BIS Shrapnel, the percentage of restaurants in each cuisine style is as follows:
• Modern Australian 36.1%
• Chinese 14.5%
• Seafood 9.2%
• Italian 9.1%
• Thai 4.0%
• French 2.0%
• Japanese 1.9%
• Malaysian 1.1%
• Greek 1.0%
• Other 21.1%

WORKFORCE:

• 91% of all restaurants and cafes employ less than 20 persons
• 48% of the workforce all either part time or casual
• 25% of the full time workforce are working proprietors or partners
• 55% of the workforce are female - 33% are full time
• 45% of the workforce are male - 58% are full time
• 70% of the workforce have no post-school qualifications
• 16.5% have vocational qualifications
• 5% have a degree or higher qualification

SOURCES OF INFORMATION:
* The Australian Foodservice Market, 6th Edition, 1998-2000, BIS Shrapnel
* Australian Bureau of Statistics, Restaurant and Cafe Industry, 1998-1999

Publications

Restaurant & Catering Australia Publications

Restaurant & Catering Australia has compiled a range of reports, including the Industry Wide Statistics Report, 3rd Edition; The Occupancy Cost Report; The Operations Report, 3rd Edition; and Food Service 2010.

Download a Publication Order Form Here

Study of the Australian Dining Market

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources commissioned Roy Morgan Research to conduct a Consumer Preference and Needs Based Segmentation Study of the Australian Dining Market in March 2004.

The aim of the study is to provide the Restaurant and Catering Industry Action Agenda (RCIAA) with information to assist development and promotion of an industry led generic marketing campaign that educates and increases consumer awareness of the value of eating out. The objective of this campaign is to grow the Dining Out category by encouraging Australians to increase the frequency of dining out experiences, and by increasing the yield.

The Executive Summary from the report is attached below.

Download Executive Summary Here