Tourism is Australia's biggest export earner, but new government figures show that over recent months the number of visitors from Asian countries has fallen sharply.

The figures for April are a mirror image of the chaos on the region's financial markets:

• The number of Korean tourists has dived by 80%;
• Arrivals from Thailand are down by more than 66%;
• Tourism from Indonesian has halved.

For the whole year, the figures look less dramatic, but overall figures are down and the pace of the decline accelerated in the early months of this year - a sign that Asia's middle classes have begun to suffer.

In the quarter to March of this year, Australia had 9.1% fewer tourists than during the same period last year.

Australia's national carrier, Quantas Airways, has flown into turbulence as well. International business has fallen while domestic traffic is stagnating.

Cheap dollar tempts West

Now the country's tourism industry is seeking new visitors, particularly from North America and Europe.

Heavy marketing has made an impact. While overall figures for the year are down, April bucked the trend. The total number of tourists went up by 4%.

They may have been attracted by a weak Australian dollar. Many American and European visitors are enjoying some extra buying power during their holidays.

Nonetheless, the industry is in trouble. Tourism is expected to earn the country some 16bn Australian dollars ($8.8bn), but many flights to Australia from Asian countries have been cancelled and hotel and tourist park operators freely admit that they are suffering.

Bruce Baird, managing director of the Tourism Council Australia, which represents them, said: "The financial crisis in Asia is continuing to impact on the industry."