Sydney and Crocodile Dundee spearhead Aussie tourism bonanza
SYDNEY is driving a record surge in overseas visitors that has pumped almost $6 billion extra into the Harbour City and the national economy over the last year.
NSW
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THE Crocodile Dundee tourism campaign is helping drive a record surge of overseas visitors — particularly Americans — with Sydney leading the extra $6 billion national boom.
The teaser trailer which aired during this year’s US Super Bowl is quickly proving to be a huge success, with American visitor spending across the nation up 4 per cent to $3.8 billion, and US tourists to NSW leaping 11 per cent to 494,000.
The US was a lucrative market for Australia, federal Tourism Minister Steven Ciobo said.
“We’re targeting the US because American travellers spend more and tend to venture beyond the capital cities, with more than 40 per cent visiting regional destinations,” Mr Ciobo said.
“While Australia ranks highly among Americans in desirability, it lags behind global competitors when it comes to actual bookings.
“The Dundee campaign aims to convert this desire to visit to booking a trip Down Under.”
Tourism Australia’s spoof “trailer” for a reboot of the 1986 hit movie featured Australian Hollywood stars Chris Hemsworth, Margot Robbie, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Isla Fisher and American Danny McBride, with a cameo by the original Mick Dundee and “shrimp on the barbie” tourism drawcard Paul Hogan.
The Daily Telegraph backed the push with the highly popular #bringbackdundee campaign.
Australia’s tourism push is extending across the globe.
Overall, international and domestic tourist spending across the nation soared to a record $107.4 billion for the year to March — a 6 per cent or $5.8 billion increase on the previous year, figures to be released today reveal. International tourist spending alone also grew by 6 per cent to a record $42.3 billion.
Sydney remains Australia’s number one destination with 4.1 million international visitors over the 12 months.
China and the US are the state’s top markets.
Chinese visitors to NSW increased by 12 per cent to 792,000, spending 10 per cent more at $3.2 billion.
Nationally, Chinese tourist spending rose by 13 per cent, or $1.3 billion, to a record $10.9 billion, the International Visitor Survey figures will today reveal.
Mr Ciobo said Chinese tourists’ growing love affair with Australia built the “people-to-people links between our countries and helps to grow our strong relationship”.
“The continued growth from China comes off the back of the 2017 China Australia Year of Tourism and a landmark aviation agreement secured by the Turnbull government,” Mr Ciobo said.
Other strong growth in visits to NSW came from Taiwan, India, Hong Kong, Canada and Indonesia.
Mr Ciobo said tourism was the “quiet achiever” of the Australian economy, with the greatest boost felt in NSW.
“This record spending by tourists is driving economic growth and helping create new jobs,” he said.
“We are targeting high-yielding tourists who are going to spend more in our hotels and shops and, importantly, get out into regional Australia to spend their money there too.”
The nation’s top three tourist attractions are the Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge and the Blue Mountains with more than seven million visitors between them.
In NSW international tourists spent $10.5 billion, up 7 per cent on the previous year — with visitors also heading to Darling Harbour, Bondi Beach, Chinatown, The Rocks and Manly in Sydney.
Across the state, 421,000 tourists visited Byron Bay and the Northern Rivers, 370,000 went to Wollongong and the South Coast, 254,000 to Newcastle, 230,000 to the Central Coast and 215,000 to Port Stephens.