The Northern Territory Government’s Turbocharging Tourism investment is working, with Tourism Research Australia releasing its latest results that continue to show more visitors coming to the Territory and spending more when they are here.

The Territory hosted a total of 1.95 million domestic and international visitors in the year to March 2019, an increase of 9 per cent. The majority of visitors were tourists, up by 10 per cent, and business visitors, up by 25 per cent.

Visitors spent $2.4 billion, an increase of 13 per cent, with the average visitor spend increasing by 3.7 per cent to $1,245 per person.

Domestic visitation was strong in the New South Wales market with a 16 per cent increase to 242,000 travellers, contributing $378 million to the Territory economy.

Significant growth in international visitors saw a 55 per cent increase in Japanese visitors and a 48 per cent increase in visitors from China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Turbocharging Tourism is providing a critical boost to the Territory economy as we continue to drive visitation and boost our domestic and international marketing ensuring the NT brand is well represented in the highly competitive global tourism market. 

These latest figures show how the investment and focus is starting to pay off, with strong increases in visitation which brings more money into the Territory economy and supports local businesses and jobs.

Quotes from Minister for Tourism, Sport and Culture, Lauren Moss:

“Through Turbocharging Tourism and the additional TURBO2 investment of $62.8 million we are seeing more holiday and business visitors which supports local businesses and creates jobs for Territorians.

“Tourism is a highly competitive global industry and what we can see from these results is that when we increase our investment in tourism marketing, we also see a direct increase in visitation.

“However, there is still more to be done. To ensure growth is experienced across all regions and sectors of the industry, we continue to work together to drive visitation across the Territory.

“Turbocharging Tourism is the biggest investment in tourism ever made by any Territory Government, and we have already surpassed our target of 53 000 extra holiday visitors, with more than 66 660 extra bookings injecting an estimated $82.8 million into the economy so far.  These are holiday visitors who are coming as a direct result of our Turbocharging Tourism investment.

Media Contact: Lisa Sennett 0436 929 858