Minister Barr: Australians holidaying in Canberra smash domestic visitor record
- Written by ACT Government
Released 20/12/2017
More than 2.7 million Australians have visited the ACT in the past year, spending more and staying longer, smashing a record visitor night figure set 17 years ago around the time of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
Statistics released today show record overnight visitation, which is up 12.6 per cent to 2.71 million - well ahead of the national average of 7.2 per cent. This follows the release of record international visitor numbers just last week, highlighting a positive trend for our local tourism industry.
These visitors spent $1.575 billion while here – up 14.3 per cent on the same period last year. This is an important contributor to the ACT as we continue to reduce our reliance on the Commonwealth for the strength of our economy.
The Government’s efforts to attract low-cost carriers to Canberra is one of the reasons these figures continue to grow, as well as our investment in world class events including the Versailles exhibition at the National Gallery.
Next year is set to be an even bigger year for our tourism industry, which employs over 16,000 Canberrans, with the city named by Lonely Planet as one of the top cities in the world to visit in 2018.
The ACT Government continues to work towards our goal of growing the ACT’s overnight visitor expenditure to $2.5 billion by 2020, with current combined domestic and international overnight expenditure tracking at $2.12 billion.
- Statement ends -
Section: Andrew Barr, MLA | Media Releases
