Canberra Region results at the recent Australian Tourism Awards
| Category | Business | Awarded |
| Major Tourist Attractions | Questacon – The National Science & Technology Centre | Gold |
| Ecotourism | National Arboretum – Canberra | Gold |
| Accessible Tourism | National Arboretum – Canberra | Silver |
| Caravan & Holiday Parks | Alivio Tourist Park | Silver |
| Visitor Information Centres | Canberra & Region Visitors Centre | Bronze |
| Tourist Attractions | National Dinosaur Museum | Bronze |
| Major Festivals & Events | FLIGHT: Drone SkyShow (National Capital Authority) | Highly Commended |
| Cultural Tourism | Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House | Highly Commended |
| Tourism, Retail & Hire Services | POP Canberra | Highly Commended |
| Unique Accommodation | Jamala Wildlife Lodge | Highly Commended |
| Excellence in Food Tourism | Local Village Markets, Haig Park Village Markets | Highly Commended |
The new normal is here, it’s time to look ahead
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 December2024 shows ACT visitor expenditure has declined 6 per cent year-on-year to $3.6billion, 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.
*Information provided by VisitCanberra.
CRTIC enter three year partnership with Tourism Australia
The Canberra Region Tourism Industry Council has entered a new three-year partnership with Tourism Australia, as part of a national partnership with the Australian Tourism Industry Council. The partnership seeks to drive excellence in visitor experiences and sustainable tourism by encouraging businesses to participate in the Sustainable Tourism Accreditation, Accessible Tourism, Tourism Emissions Reduction, Connecting to Culture and the Canberra Region Tourism Awards programs.
Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison said international visitors were seeking tourism businesses that offered world-class accessible and sustainable visitor experiences.
“We encourage tourism businesses to assess their accessibility and sustainability efforts, measure their carbon emission and embed business practices and procedures to ensure sustainability goals are achieved,” Ms Harrison said.
To learn more about these programs please go to or contact us directly at info@crtic.com.au
Questacon – Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP)
Questacon is currently developing our new Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP). This Plan will help ensure that we are accessible to everyone in our community, including people with disability, long term health conditions and chronic illness.
We would like to invite you to complete a survey, found here: https://questacon.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8HpuQqYwTnUBfRI
Your input will help shape our accessibility and inclusion work into the future. This survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete. Your discount code is at the end of the survey.
All responses are anonymous, and we encourage you to be honest with your responses. Privacy: We respect your privacy and uphold your rights under the Australian Privacy Act.
If you need this survey in another format or you’d prefer to provide feedback via another method, please contact Angie Good on Angie.Good@questacon.edu.au to arrange. We appreciate your feedback.
QR code that will take you directly to the survey is below:
