Page 2875 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 17 September 2014
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(iii) national total trip expenditure is up seven percent, ACT trip expenditure is down six percent; and
(b) March 2014 results of the National Visitor Survey, which showed that although:
(i) national overnight trips were up four percent, ACT overnight trips were down three percent;
(ii) national visitor nights were up one percent, ACT visitor nights were down 17 percent; and
(iii) national expenditure was up four percent, ACT expenditure was down eight percent; and
(2) calls on the Government to detail to the Assembly why tourism in the ACT has declined, particularly off the back of the Centenary year, by the last sitting day in October 2014.
I have spoken to Mr Barr and Mr Rattenbury. We will endeavour to knock this over before we go home, and maybe we can get some adjournment speaking time.
Recently Tourism Australia released some statistics that show that, in comparison to the national average, in many cases tourism in the ACT has gone backwards, whereas in the rest of the country it has gone forward. Against national travel, to the June 2014 quarter, overnight trips grew nationally by five per cent; yet in the ACT they dropped by two per cent. Visitor nights grew by three per cent nationally but for the ACT they dropped by 16 per cent. Expenditure grew by four per cent nationally but dropped by 11 per cent in the ACT.
Indeed, the same case is mirrored in the international visitor figures in the Tourism Australia survey. Overnight trips nationally grew by eight per cent, whereas in the ACT they only grew by two per cent. Visitor nights nationally grew by one per cent, whereas in the ACT they declined by 12 per cent. Expenditure nationally grew by seven per cent from international visitors but declined by six per cent in the ACT.
One could say this might be a malaise or a bit of a hangover from the centenary year, but when one compares the two previous quarters as well one sees in most cases a decline. Figures for international visitors at the end of the March quarter in 2014 show that nationally overnight trips have gone up by six per cent but have only gone up by three per cent in the ACT. Visitor nights had gone up by one per cent nationally but declined by 10 per cent in the ACT. Expenditure by international visitors had grown by six per cent nationally but dropped by eight per cent in the ACT.
For December 2013, at the end of the centenary year, overnight trips nationally by international visitors had grown by six per cent but had grown, to their credit, by 12 per cent in the ACT. Visitor nights had grown by four per cent nationally but had declined by one per cent in the ACT. Expenditure by international visitors had grown by six per cent nationally but had declined by nine per cent here. So it is not all roses.
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