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Great news & numbers for Australian tourism

More and more travellers are heading to Australia for their international vacations, according to the latest international arrivals data.

More and more travellers are heading to Australia for their international vacations, according to the latest international arrivals data.

Statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed a 7.6 percent rise in short-term visitors last year compared to 2013.

Around 6.9 million overseas travellers arrived in the country throughout the year – the highest it has been in over a decade.

The main purpose for international arrivals was leisure holidays, which increased 8.7 percent compared to the previous 12 months.

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December was one of the strongest months for tourism, with a 2.8 percent rise compared to the same period the prior year, to 807,100 visitors.

Tourism Australia Managing Director John O’Sullivan said it was a ‘remarkable performance’ and a testament to the industry’s hard work.

In addition to pushing Tourism Australia’s ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’ campaign, the Australian government and state governments have worked with international celebrities to endorse the country.

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The most recent campaign saw Destination NSW bring Australian-born TODAY anchor Savannah Guthrie to Sydney to host a live broadcast.

According to NSW Premier Mike Baird, Savannah’s visit promoted Sydney to some 5.6 million Americans who watch the show every morning, as well as four million TODAY Facebook followers.

Additionally, Australia brought TV host Ellen to the country back in 2013, which saw an immediate 22 percent increase in ticket sales after the episodes aired. Read on

But perhaps the biggest ad for Australian tourism took place over the weekend when Guy Sebastian performed on Eurovision.

“The industry deserves great credit for delivering such impressive numbers, but now certainly isn’t the time to look back.”

John O’Sullivan, Tourism Australia Managing Director

“There’s still a lot of hard work to be done if we’re going to hit our Tourism 2020 targets, and our focus is very much about the future.

Mr O’Sullivan said that Tourism Australia was already planning its next marketing salvo, which would sit alongside and complement its ongoing food and wine push, and which would shine a powerful light on Australia’s diverse aquatic and coastal experiences.

What else do you think Australia can do to drive up international visitor numbers?