NSW and Victoria risk falling behind a soaring tourism market, new government figures show, after the east coast states experienced only a quarter of the growth in tourism numbers of the Northern Territory and half that of Western Australia over the past three years.
The statistics, to be released by Tourism Research Australia on Wednesday, show spending in Australia's total tourism market has cracked the $100 billion mark for the first time, with the majority coming from domestic tourists.
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But overseas travellers are also consuming more, now making up to 40 per cent of the market up from 31 per cent in 2014 on the back of campaigns targeting tourism dollars from China, Britain, the US and New Zealand, and emerging opportunities in Singapore, Malaysia and Korea.
At the same time, while accounting for the largest number of tourists overall, NSW has seen its growth lag to 14 per cent, compared to 20 per cent in Victoria, 21 per cent in the ACT, 47 per cent in WA and 69 per cent in the NT.
Tourism Minister Steven Ciobo said the Northern Territory was the "standout performer."
"Tourism is a $120 billion industry that employs around one in 12 Australians, so this growth in holiday spending means more jobs, more investment and more prosperity for all Australians, especially those in regional Australia, where 45 per cent of tourist dollars are spent," he said.
NSW is looking to build its numbers through the long-delayed airport at Badgerys Creek, which will initialy mostly serve the domestic tourism market by flying in visitors to Western Sydney - Australia's fourth-most populated area - and transporting residents around the country.
According to government projections, the new airport will be similarly sized to the Gold Coast Airport at Coolangatta and be able to handle about 10 million passengers a year when it opens in 2025. By 2050 up to 82 million passengers a year are expected to fly through its terminals, 43 per cent of them international.
Labor infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese told the Western Sydney Aerotropolis Summit in February said the airport was an essential piece of infrastructure to prevent the area from falling behind.
"It can take longer for commuters to get to Mascot than they spend in the air travelling to Melbourne or Brisbane," he said.
"And the taxi fare can be more than the airfare."