Developing our Tourism Capital

With a beautiful natural environment, a large variety of leisure facilities, a diversity of special events and many national attractions, it is little wonder that Canberra is Australia's most talked about city. The Canberra tourism industry has expanded rapidly over the past few years. As the location for some of Australia's most significant arts, cultural, historical and scientific infrastructure, the region is capturing a growing share of the tourist market.

The ACT Tourism Industry Profile | Tourist Attractions | Australian Capital Tourism Corporation (ACTC)

The ACT Tourism Industry Profile

Canberra caters for a significant number of international visitors including tourist, students and government representatives.

Tourism is one of the most important and dynamic industries in the ACT. In the year ending September 2001 Canberra received:

2.07 million domestic overnight visitors;
1.67 million domestic day visitors; and
210,000 international visitors accounting for 5% of all international tourists to Australia (1999).

Many visitors to Canberra are friends or relatives of residents.

In 1998 visitation brought $1.1 billion in direct expenditure to the ACT and an additional $898 million in value-added economic impacts (BTR, 1999). The tourism industry is the largest private sector employer in the ACT employing 14,000 people.

Domestic visitor expenditure in the ACT is significantly higher than elsewhere in Australia. In addition, current levels of domestic visitor satisfaction indicate that experiences in the ACT exceed visitors' expectations with repeat visitation to Canberra at 70%.

Increasing the diversity of tourism products and services has expanded the appeal of Canberra as a destination and has achieved additional tourism revenue and growing visitor satisfaction.

As the National Capital, Canberra is uniquely positioned as a tourist destination of national and international significance.

Tourist Attractions

Australia's great institutions, such as the Australian War Memorial, the Australian National Gallery, the High Court of Australia and the National Museum of Australia are all located in Canberra. The Australian War Memorial was named the best tourist attraction in the 2001 National Tourism Awards for the second year in a row.

The surrounding region also features diverse attractions. Of particular note, is the renowned Canberra district wine region located within an hour of the city. The ski-fields of the Snowy Mountains, the South Coast, and the Southern Highlands are all within two hours of Canberra and have their own attractions including historic towns, indigenous heritage sites, and man-made infrastructure such as the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

The ACT's National Capital status makes Canberra an ideal destination and backdrop for both large and small events. The ACT currently hosts a diverse range of events which vary in scale and focus from hallmark events such as Floriade to community celebrations such as Australia Day in the National Capital.

Australian Capital Tourism Corporation (ACTC)

Australian Capital Tourism is a Statutory Corporation reporting to the ACT Government and charged with promoting the Australian Capital Territory and the region as one of Australia's top tourist destinations, and with managing many major events, and with providing tourism and travel information and bookings services.

The role of Australian Capital Tourism in the coming years is to lead the ACT and Regional tourism industry to deliver marketing and development programs that significantly increase the economic return from domestic and international tourism.

Links

See Yourself in Canberra

Australian Capital Toursim - Corporate website