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Category: Tourism

Tourists never never going to NT, figures show

Thursday, 3 Mar 2016 09:11:00 | Nadia Daly

Tourists spent a record $36.6 billion in Australia last year, but spending in the NT was down 1 per cent. (Supplied)

The Northern Territory has recorded the lowest growth in international tourist numbers of all Australian jurisdictions, except Western Australia.

Key points:

  • Nationally, tourists spent record $36.6 billion in year ending Dec 2015
  • WA and NT worst performing destinations
  • Nights spent in NT down 15 per cent

While more international tourists are visiting Australia, spending more time and more money in the country, not all states and territories are benefitting from the boom.

A report by the government's Tourism Research Australia intelligence organisation shows international visitors to Australia spent $36.6 billion from December 2014 to December 2015, up 18 per cent.

Nationally, those travellers are mostly coming from New Zealand, China, the UK, USA and Singapore, according to the report, with the China market growing with particular speed.

External Link: International visitors in Australia 2015 summary

International tourists swarmed to Tasmania last year, largely driven by China's tourism boom, which saw numbers jump by a fifth.

That's attributed to the visit to the state by China's leader at the end of 2014.

By the numbers, New South Wales saw the largest volume of tourists, and grew by 7 per cent.

But the WA and the NT came in last, tying with 3 per cent growth in the year to December 2015.

The number of nights visitors stayed plummeted in the NT, down 15 per cent, while it rose in most other states.

The amount of money tourists spent also dropped by 1 per cent.

The Northern Territory, like the rest of Australia, is aiming to attract more tourists as the governments try to steer the economy from mining over to services industries such as tourism.

Tourism is the Northern Territory's largest employer.

In its 2020 Vision report, Tourism NT stated that the economy relied on the tourism sector far more than the rest of Australia, and the NT government is looking to grow the sector to a $2.2 billion industry by 2020.

The government is looking to boost the vital sector, especially with tourists from China.

Crocosaurus Cove tourist attraction, Darwin Photo: Tourists spent a record $36.6 billion in Australia last year, but spending in the NT was down 1 per cent. (Supplied)

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