NSW is once again the number one State in Australia to visit, welcoming almost 28 million domestic visitors in the past 12 months.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said NSW is again far ahead of its closest rivals, according to Tourism Research Australia’s National Visitor Survey, for the year ending year ending September 2015.
“NSW received more than 27.8 million visitors in the last 12 months, an increase of five per cent, as the NSW Government continues to work hard to ensure our great State is the best holiday destination,” Mr Ayres said.
“NSW received 8.1 million more domestic visitors than Queensland and 6.6 million more than Victoria – clearly we are outshining the rest of Australia.
“These visitors to NSW stayed 90 million nights and spent nearly $16 billion in the last 12 months, an increase of five per cent, providing a massive economic boost to our State, and creating jobs in restaurants, hotels and our superior visitor attractions.”
Domestic visitors to regional NSW also increased, with the Hunter, Riverina, Blue Mountains, New England, South Coast and Central NSW all experiencing rises.
Regional NSW received 19.3 million visitors who spent $9.4 billion for the year. This is the highest domestic overnight expenditure on record, since the data began in 1999.
Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Sandra Chipchase said the agency’s marketing campaigns and event acquisition and development strategies continue to drive increased domestic visitor numbers.
“There were a number of fantastic major events held in recent months that ensured NSW remains number one, including Matilda The Musical, the Netball World Cup, 2015 Bledisloe Cup, Eastern University Games in Wollongong, Rally Australia in Coffs Harbour and the 2015 Sydney Running Festival,” Ms Chipchase said.
