Sunday 28 April 2013

NSW CONFIRMS STRONG LEAD IN INTERNATIONAL TOURISM

New South Wales continues to lead Australia in visitor numbers, expenditure and overnight stays by international tourists. It’s positive news for the NSW Government’s goal of doubling overnight tourism expenditure by 2020. Latest statistics reinforce the State’s position as Australia’s prime gateway and premier state for visitors.

The latest International Visitor Survey results for the 2012 calendar year show that over half the total number of visitors to Australia (50.8%) visited NSW. The State welcomed more than 2.8 million visitors, compared to two million for Queensland and 1.8 million for Victoria.

“Visitor expenditure in NSW totalled AUD $6.3 billion, compared to AUD $4.4 billion for Victoria and AUD $3.8 billion for Queensland to year-end December 2012, confirming NSW as the number one Australian destination for international visitors and visitor expenditure,” NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events, George Souris, confirmed.

Mr Souris said the significant increase in international visitors to NSW proved that the tourism strategy with Destination NSW was working.

“With the launch of our China Tourism Strategy 2012-2020, developed and implemented by Destination NSW, the latest figures highlight the fact that the NSW Government’s focus on attracting visitors from Asia is paying substantial dividends for the State’s economy”.

China is a rising tourism star for NSW and Australia. NSW enjoyed a 19% increase in visitors from China in 2012, contributing more than AUD $1.2 billion to the State’s economy. It also saw a 40% jump in the number of Malaysian visitors, accompanied by a 45% increase in visitor nights. This followed the introduction of Air Asia X flights to Sydney in April 2012, a service that Destination NSW worked with Sydney Airport to secure.

To read more about visitation trend to New South Wales including reasons for travel, please visit the Destination NSW website

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