Minister Barr: Leisure drives international visitation growth
- Written by ACT Government
Released 19/06/2019
The ACT has registered record visitation from overseas with holiday visitors leading the charge.
Tourism Research Australia International Visitor Survey data for the year ending March 2019 shows the ACT recorded its highest ever growth in both visitors staying overnight and the money they spent.
The data shows 259,408 international visitors came, a 4.4 per cent increase compared to the same period last year and ahead of the national average growth of 2.7 per cent. Our international visitors spent over $600 million for the year ending March 2019, creating more jobs for Canberrans and more opportunities for local businesses. In a quarter that reflected relatively flat international visitation growth across Australia, the ACT recorded the second highest growth in nationally.
Canberra’s fourth international source market, India, continues to grow at a rapid rate with 41.4 per cent growth compared to the same time last year. The top six source countries and their share of the ACT market were: 1. China (19.6 per cent) 2. United Kingdom (8.4 per cent) 3. USA (7.8 per cent) 4. India (6.5 per cent) 5. New Zealand (6.3 per cent) 6. Germany (4.4 per cent).
The result reflects the ACT Governments commitment to growing the visitor economy to $2.5 billion by 2020. VisitCanberra concentrated destination marketing efforts to international visitors through activities including travel trade events, travel trade and media engagement and cooperative campaigns with online travel agents and Singapore Airlines continues to work towards this goal.
The success of international tourism in the capital is growing alongside the increase in international flights to Canberra. Between Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways, 14 international flights per week now arrive at Canberra Airport.
- Statement ends -
Section: Andrew Barr, MLA | Media Releases
