Record-breaking year for NSW as visitor expenditure soars past $50 billion

There is one Aussie state that tourists can’t get enough of and because of them visitor expenditure has soared past a record-breaking figure.

NSW has taken the top spot for international visitor growth in Australia contributing to a massive $11 billion to the economy.

It welcomed the most overseas visitors out of all the other states with Sydney alone attracting more than half of all tourists, retaining its position as the most popular city when it comes to international travellers.

It accounted for 53 per cent of all international visitors, spending an estimated $10 billion, according to the latest figures from Tourism Research Australia (TRA).

NSW has taken the top spot for international visitor growth in Australia.

Those from the US, UK and NZ visited the state the most, with China showing strong recovery as the fourth largest.

South Korea also saw the fastest visitor growth, while Indonesia excelled in both nights spent

and expenditure and Singapore led in expenditure growth.

Sydney remains Australia’s visitor capital, attracting over half of all international visitors to Australian capitals.

It’s been a massive year in tourism with domestic and international travellers contributing a record $51.4 billion to the NSW visitor economy in the year ending December 2023.

“The NSW visitor economy is leading the country’s recovery from the pandemic and attracting the majority of international visitors to Australia as well as setting new benchmarks domestically,” Destination NSW CEO Steve Cox said in a statement.

Western Sydney accounted for one in five domestic overnight visitors to Sydney in the year ending December 2023.

“The diversity of natural and cultural experiences in NSW is unrivalled and puts our state in a unique position to attract visitors from around the world.”

He noted the results are a nod to top-notch visitor experiences from Ballina to Broken Hill and Narooma to Newcastle.

“Congratulations and well done to the thousands of people working hard each and every day to grow our visitor economy, support local jobs and inject billions into our state.”

Nature-based activities and caravan/camping were major drawcards for visitors.

Mr Cox said it is “gratifying to see” Western Sydney’s visitor economy also go from strength to strength.

“It is already Australia’s third largest economy and is on the runway to becoming an even bigger powerhouse for the state’s visitor economy.”

He said when Western Sydney International Airport opens in 2026 it will have capacity for

10 million passengers per year from day one, “further boosting visitation to Greater Sydney and regional NSW”.

When it comes to domestic visitor figures, NSW, regional NSW and Sydney all achieved record domestic expenditure.