Destination NSW: China tourists deliver big business for NSW

Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said the results reflected the continued success of the NSW Government's hard work to drive overseas visitation.

"Sydney continues to lead all Australian capital cities as the most popular destination for international tourists," Mr Marshall said.

"Regional NSW has also shared in the visitor bonanza, achieving its highest volume of international visitors, nights and expenditure on record, with 781,200 visitors who spent $947 million.

"These remarkable results are underpinned by our strategic marketing and industry partnerships, combined with our hosting of major world-class events, such as Vivid Sydney, which are delivering record results for NSW."

Mr Marshall said the China market was again a key driver in the again drawing record numbers to the state.

"For the first time, the number of visitors from China exceeded 700,000 for the year and they spent almost $3 billion while here. China continues to lead NSW's tourism growth and there was also a huge jump in visitors from Korea, Japan, India and Indonesia, with these markets growing by more than 15 per cent," Mr Marshall said.

"We will continue to capitalise on the diverse opportunities on offer in China by actively building new markets, supporting new products and services and develop our industry partnerships to ensure that NSW continues to be the number one destination for international travelers."

In the 12 months to March 2017, NSW attracted more than 3.9 million overnight international visitors, a growth of 10 per cent on the previous year. These visitors spent $9.8 billion in our state, which is $848 million more than last year - and, the highest expenditure growth in Australia.