ACT Visitor Numbers Rise
Interstate and international visitor numbers to the act saw a substantial rise in 2016 with Canberra Airport playing a key role in this success.
According to Tourism Research Australia’s national visitor survey released in late March, 2.49 million interstate visitors travelled to the territory in 2016 – a 13 per cent increase on the previous year.
The Territory also saw a seven per cent increase in international visitors for the year ending 31 December 2016 with 208,000 overseas visitors spending $452 million during their stay.
While Singapore Airlines only began operating its international services to Canberra Airport on 21 September, Singaporean visitors to the Capital increased by 73.5 per cent during the year.
China remains the ACT’s largest international visitor market, representing 19.7 per cent of all international visitors.
Delighted by the increase of visitors to the nation’s capital, Canberra Airport’s Managing Director, Stephen Byron, said the airport also experienced an increase in the number passengers that passed through the terminal.
“Last year almost 2.9 million passengers arrived at or departed from our terminal, representing an increase of 3.5 per cent on the previous year,” Mr Byron said. “We are very pleased to have played an important part in contributing to the increase in the number of domestic and international travellers coming to the Territory.”