Tourists spend $133 million annually in Kempsey Shire

March 14, 2008

New figures show Kempsey Shire attracts an average of 319,000 domestic overnight visitors and 8,000 international visitors per year helping small business and pumping more money into the local economy.

 

The Nationals Federal Member for Cowper, Luke Hartsuyker, said the new figures from Tourism Research Australia, which are a three to four year average to June 2007, reveal the growing trends why people are choosing to visit the Kempsey Shire.

 

More than 319,000 Australians choose to come here annually, spending on average $131 million which is helping local restaurants, shops, hotels and B and B’s,” Mr Hartsuyker said.

 

“The majority of the visitors came from the Sydney and New South Wales market.

“In addition, about 8,000 international visitors visit the Kempsey Shire annually, pumping some $2 million into our local economy and creating new jobs.

 

“The new survey shows the biggest drawcards for tourists to the shire are restaurants, the beaches and visiting relatives.

 

The Tourism Research Australia data shows the average number of nights a domestic visitor spends in the Kempsey shire is 4.3, compared to international visitors who stay an average of 4.7 nights.

 

Mr Hartsuyker said tourism is vitally important to small businesses in the local area which rely on visitor spending.

 

“There are more than 720 businesses in Kempsey shire which rely on tourism spending to increase their yield,” Mr Hartsuyker said.

 

“These new figures can help small businesses identify the types of visitors attracted to the region and market accordingly. This as a result can lead to increased productivity and greater opportunities for tourists as well.”

 

To see a full summary of the Tourism Profiles for Local Government Areas in Regional Australia, log onto http://www.tra.australia.com/regional.asp?sub=0159.

< Prev		Next >