The latest domestic visitor data from Tourism Research Australia for the 12 months to December 2018 shows domestic holiday visitors to the NT increased by 6.7 per cent to 652,000 visitors, with expenditure also increasing by 35 per cent to $832 million.
New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland were the Territorys strongest source markets for interstate holiday visitors.
The combined (domestic + international) holiday visitors to the NT for the year ending December 2018 increased by 6.2 per cent to 912,000 visitors who spent $1.2 billion in the Territory, which is an increase of 23 per cent on the previous year.
As noted by the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Culture, Lauren Moss:
The Tourism Research Australia results for the year ending December 2018 reflect eight months of Turbocharging Tourism investment activity and we are continuing to see positive results.
While the overall figures are strong, we know that some regions are doing better than others so there is more to do to maximise benefits for operators right throughout the Territory.
Tourism is a highly competitive global industry and these results show that when we increase investment in strategic tourism marketing, we also see a direct increase in visitation.
We have exceeded our Turbocharging Tourism holiday visitor target with 57,000 extra holiday bookings injecting an estimated $70 million-plus into the economy and counting.
These are holiday visitors that are coming to the Territory as a direct result of our Turbocharging Tourism investment.
The encouraging visitor numbers to date will deliver some confidence for our local tourism industry as we move into the dry season.
As noted by Chair Tourism NT Board of Commissioners, Michael Bridge:
We are clearly seeing Turbocharging Tourism initiatives working.
We are seeing it in our numbers, where we track each and every campaign activity, and we are now seeing it in the quarterly National Visitor Survey and International Visitor Survey data.
The strength of our destination, and the reason we continue to focus on tourism, is that we have incredible natural assets here in the Territory that, when delivered brilliantly as tourism product, are better than anything else you would find in the world.
What we need to do collectively, both Government and industry, is to continue our investment in tourism, which has positive flow-on effects for the broader community.
