Wednesday, 15 March 2017
NSW continues to dominate the visitor economy attracting more than 50 per cent of all international visitors to Australia last year, contributing a record $9.5 billion to the State’s economy according to the International Visitor Survey results released today.
Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said Tourism Research Australia’s independent figures reconfirmed tourism as one of the State’s strongest growth sectors.
“We’ve seen record levels of tourism dollars fly into Sydney and rural and regional NSW, turbocharging local economies, generating jobs and investment,” Mr Marshall said.
“Last year NSW attracted 3.9 million visitors, a growth of 13 per cent on the previous year, smashing the growth rate of other states and increasing visitor spend by $1.1 billion.
“Visitors have voted with their passports, NSW is the place to visit and enjoy.
“Expenditure growth in NSW of 13 per cent was more than double that of Victoria and more than triple that of Queensland meaning NSW continues to stand supreme as the number one state for tourism – and our lead is growing.”
Mr Marshall said while Sydney remained the number one destination for overseas visitors, with record growth figures, visitation to rural and regional NSW had also seen a significant increase.
“Sydney continues to lead all Australian capital cities achieving its highest volumes of international visitors and expenditure on record while rural and regional NSW has also increased its number of international visitors, by an impressive 11.5 per cent,” Mr Marshall said.
“These results demonstrate the State is reaping the benefits of the NSW Government’s significant ongoing investment in tourism and major events, with the goal of doubling tourism expenditure by 2020.
“We are entering an exciting time for tourism in both Sydney and rural and regional NSW, seeing the sector reenergised through innovative reforms and record investment to attract more visitors to experience destinations right across NSW.”