An Indigenous Tourism report to be released today reveals that having an "indigenous experience" - such as visiting an Aboriginal art gallery or seeing Aboriginal dance - was a major factor for just 18 per cent of visitors in their decision to come to Australia in the March quarter this year. Fifty three per cent of visitors said having an indigenous experience was of little or no influence in their decision.

Germans, at 38 per cent, and Americans, at 30 per cent, were the most interested in tasting Aboriginal culture.

And younger international visitors tended to seek an indigenous experience more than their older counterparts. Last year, 45 per cent of international visitors who experienced indigenous tourism were aged between 15 and 34, while 23 per cent were over 55.

Of those who missed out on participating in Aboriginal tourism, more than 90 per cent said they would like to experience an indigenous experience on a future trip to Australia.

Mr Ridgeway, who is Aboriginal, said Europeans would be targeted to come to Aboriginal festivals. "You could easily be in South Africa or the west coast of the US on a tourism theme of sun, surf and sand - you have to look at some sort of differentiation and what makes Australia unique is indigenous culture," he said.

Mr Ridgeway said he wanted to travel overseas with a large delegation twice a year. "We will target key markets and we want to focus on building a strategy around festivals, focusing on the icon festivals ... and use that as a focal point for visitors making a choice to first come to Australia and, once they are here, to go out to communities," he said.

Small Business and Tourism Minister Fran Bailey said she wanted to create up to 30 new indigenous-run tourism businesses in the next three years.

"I'm aiming for between 20 and 30 new indigenous tourism businesses within the next three years as a result of our mentor program, especially if we get these businesses with the skills to keep them sustainable," she said.

"We now know that there is unmet demand. A recent survey revealed that 25 per cent of international holidaymakers wanted to experience some form of indigenous activity whilst in Australia."

There are about 300 indigenous tourism projects in the country and the ITA survey found tourists wanted more.

About 130,000 international visitors spent $11.5 million buying indigenous art or craft during the March quarter of this year.

Retail shops received 45 per cent of the spending, followed by galleries with 38 per cent and festivals or markets with 10 per cent. Seventy-nine per cent of the visitors who bought indigenous arts and crafts indicated that they spent less than $100.

Almost 79,000 international visitors participated in indigenous tourism activities in the March quarter as part of an organised group tour. Visiting indigenous art, craft or cultural displays was the most popular activity, attracting 54 per cent of those who understood indigenous tourism. About 22 per cent visited indigenous sites or communities.