The new normal is here, it’s time to look ahead.
The pandemic is well behind us, and whilst not everything in tourism and travel is back to the way it once was, many drivers of the visitor economy are stabilising into what we could call the “new normal”.
Through 2022 we saw rapid bounce-back growth, followed by continued moderate growth through 2023, and on to 2024 when the macro drivers of the visitor economy stabilised to be similar to pre-pandemic levels.
The latest TRA Visitor Economy update to the year ending December 2024 shows ACT visitor expenditure has declined 6 per cent year-on-year to $3.6 billion, derived from a total of 5.5 million visitors.
International visitation and spend continues its growth trend, with spend up 27 per cent year-on-year to $627 million – double the national growth rate. International visitation increased 20 per cent year-on-year, driven by increases in visitors from China and the USA.
However, domestic spend is softening, with a contraction in domestic day visitor spend driving the overall decline in ACT visitor spend for the year ending December 2024.
The ACT attracted 3.1 million domestic overnight visitors during this period, representing a 6 per cent decrease year-on-year, against a national increase of 2 per cent.
The decline in domestic travel is in line with forecasts and comes as cost of living and household budget pressures continue to impact on more discretionary local travel spend. VisitCanberra continues to focus on the core market of domestic overnight visitors, who represent the largest segment of visitors, and the highest total spend.
Looking ahead, the VisitCanberra team will be holding a 2024 Visitor Economy Year in Review session during mid May, so keep an eye out for when and where that will happen.
You can review the latest ACT Visitor KPIs here and as always get in touch with Justin Garrett with your questions about the latest ACT tourism trends or any specific information needs to help develop your visitor strategies and tactics.