NSW's tourism market 'very healthy'

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Created on Friday, 20 September 2013 15:02

Written by Editorial staff

All migration agents who live and work in New South Wales may have experienced a heavier workload over the last 12 months.

That's because the number of people choosing New South Wales as their holiday or business travel destination has skyrocketed over the past year, reveals Destination NSW.

George Souris, Minister for Tourism and Major Events, announced on September 4 that tourist spending is up, visitor numbers are climbing and the state's economy is reaping the benefits.

Tourism Research Australia recently conducted a study which shows that tourist spending increased by 6.6 per cent during the year ending in June 2013.

This takes it to $6.53 billion, which is "great news for tourism businesses and jobs," said Mr Souris.

It also puts New South Wales ahead of the pack in terms of visitor expenditure. Other states, such as Victoria and Queensland, also saw increases during this 12-month period, but they were nowhere near as impressive.

Victoria saw tourist spending rise by $4.58 billion in the year ending in June 2013, while Queensland witnessed an increase of $3.96 billion.

These are still encouraging statistics, and contributed to a country-wide rise in tourist spending of 6 per cent.

Mr Souris called this a "very healthy" increase and proof that Australia's tourism industry is alive and well.

The number of holiday-makers and business travellers who came to New South Wales in 2012-13 also went up, indicating that the state is popular for both pleasure and work purposes.

Sydney's many events and attractions have no doubt played a part in attracting holiday-makers, 6.9 per cent more of whom visited New South Wales during this time.

The amount of people travelling to the state to visit friends and family also increased by 6.1 per cent.

This is great news for registered migration agents in New South Wales, as the travellers who fall into this category are likely to be repeat customers for immigration visas.

In addition to this, the number of business travellers choosing Sydney are their destination rose by 6.5 per cent in the year ending in June 2013.

Mr Souris revealed that this compares favourably "to the 0.9 per cent growth for all capital cities".

"As Australia's global city and international gateway, Sydney has unbeatable attractions for international and domestic visitors," concluded Mr Souris.