Forget the sharks, it's the surf that'll get you in Australia

Tourists visiting Australia often worry about deadly spiders and sharks but a new campaign on flights coming into the country hopes to warn them about a greater danger - the surf.

Overseas tourists entering Australia are to be given safety instructions after a sharp rise in the number of drownings involving foreigners on the country's famed beaches, surf life saving officials have said.

Last year, 82 people drowned on Australia's beaches and more than a quarter of these, 26, were foreigners, ill-equipped to deal with the strong currents and surf. This figure was up from nine overseas visitor drownings in 2006.

"This high risk group has limited English skills, a lack of knowledge about the beach, over-estimate their swimming ability, inadequate swimming skills and a general lack of surf safety awareness," said Brett Williamson, chief executive of Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA).

In a bid to curb the rise, six international airlines - Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Air New Zealand, China Airlines and South African Airlines - have agreed to screen a coastal safety video on inbound flights.

Tourists will be warned to swim between red and yellow safety flags on popular beaches, read safety signs and swim with a friend.

They will also be told to stay calm and attract attention from lifeguards if they should run into trouble.

"To many Australians these rules seem like second nature, but they are not to international visitors," said surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore.

Australia's tourism industry has run into trouble this year with overseas visitors driven off by renewed strength of the Aussie dollar.