NSW continues its dominant position with the greatest share of visitors coming to our State from around Australia according to the latest National Visitor Survey (NVS) Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Sandra Chipchase has announced.

“Sydney and NSW remains the most popular place, with more visitor nights and expenditure than any other state,” Ms Chipchase said.

For the year end to March 2014 NSW was visited by 26.3 million people living in Australia who stayed more than 85 million nights.

Total expenditure by domestic overnight visitors in NSW grew by 10 per cent to $15.35billion during the same period and this growth was driven by the Holiday and Visiting Friends and Relatives market segments.

“NSW visitor expenditure was higher than any other state capturing 29.3 per cent of total expenditure across Australia and exceeding our target for the year-end March 2014,” Ms Chipchase said.

“In addition to providing a boost to the NSW economy, the latest NVS results also mean that we are well on track to meet the Government's target of doubling overnight visitor expenditure by 2020.

Ms Chipchase attributed these latest NVS results to the success of Destination NSW's event acquisition strategies and targeted marketing and industry partnership campaigns for Sydney and Regional NSW.

“Major events such as Vivid Sydney are also important drivers of visitation across our State. More than 1.4 million attended this year's festival which helps drive visitors, nights and expenditure during what was once a quieter winter period,” Ms Chipchase said. 

“Fantastic regional events such as Deni Blues & Roots Festival, 2014 NCHA Futurity in Tamworth, Ironman Australia Port Macquarie and The Peak Festival in the Snowy Mountains also contribute to our State's excellent National Visitor Survey results,” she said.

Changes to the NVS methodology by Tourism Research Australia means that data between 1998 and 2013 can no longer be compared on a like for like basis. For more information go to: http://www.tra.gov.au/Fact-sheet-2014-Updates-to-the-IVS%20-NVS.html