The New South Wales region of Australia (NSW) is celebrating another record-breaking year for its visitor economy, with total visitor expenditure reaching a new high of $52.9bn.
Tourism Research Australia (TRA) data for the year ending June 2024 shows the state also recorded the largest increase nationally for international visitors, nights and expenditure.
NSW includes such urban and natural attractions as Sydney, Bondi Beach, Newcastle, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong, Wagga Wagga, the Hunter Valley and Coffs Harbour.
Both international visitor nights and expenditure have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, with spending soaring to a record $12.2bn during the period. International visitor spending rose to $11.1bn in Sydney and $1.2bn in regional NSW, surpassing expenditure during the same period in 2019. NSW was Australia’s top destination for international visitors, visitor nights and expenditure during the period.
There were 3.7 million international visitors to NSW in the year ending June 2024 (up 35.6%), who stayed 99.1 million nights (up 46.2%) and spent $12.2 billion (up 41.9%).
Sydney was the number one Australian capital city for visitors, visitor nights and expenditure. It received 37.5 million international and domestic visitors who spent $26.8bn across the period, an increase of 20 per cent since the year ending June 2019.
Regional NSW welcomed 700,000 international visitors, who stayed 17.1 million nights. There were 101.6 million domestic and international visitors to NSW in the year ending June 2024. Regional NSW was also the most popular destination across regional Australia in the year ending June 2024, with 65.4 million international and domestic visitors.
Minister for Jobs and Tourism John Graham said: “The latest data confirms that NSW is Australia’s number one destination for both domestic and international visitors. NSW attracted record-breaking visitor expenditure throughout the last financial year and is leading Australia’s international visitor revival. Our state has an incredible depth and breadth of unique experiences that visitors love telling their friends and family about. Thank you to our world-class tourism businesses across the state for their hard work in delivering these unforgettable moments, which ensure NSW maintains its position as the leading visitor economy in Australia.”
