ACT Budget: Tourism and Trade

The ACT 2024-2025 Budget will build international business and trade links and grow the local tourism industry, making it easier for international visitors to come to the nation’s capital, Prime Minister Andrew Barr announced.

Cheaper air flights to Canberra are a priority; Continued investment in the Aviation Stimulus Fund will attract more direct domestic and international flights to and from Canberra, Mr Barr said. By 2023, this fund generated $95 million for the ACT.

The US is ACT’s strongest international visitor market and a growth market for many businesses in Canberra. Building on last year’s trade mission, budget investment in the United States will expand opportunities for the ACT’s tourism, trade and business sectors.

The funding will also boost tourism from China, a key market that has yet to return to pre-coronavirus levels, and from Singapore, Southeast Asia and India.

The Budget will support the many Canberra-based companies with links to these international markets and help companies enter these markets, Mr Barr said.

Budget funding will bring the British and Irish Lions Tour (the biggest rugby event outside the Rugby World Cup) to Canberra on July 9, 2025 for a match against the ACT Brumbies (a local team).

More than $900,000 will be spent on improving signage, including in parks and nature reserves, which attract many visitors every year. The access signs along the Barton Highway will be updated, as will the signage and other signs for the Floriade and the Enlighten Festival.

The Government will continue its sponsorship of the Canberra Region Tourism Awards, an avenue for national recognition of the ACT’s tourism sector and raising Canberra’s profile as a tourism destination.

The Brand Canberra program will continue to promote Canberra as a great place to live, work and study.

“A thriving and growing tourism sector is driving Canberra’s continued economic growth,” Mr Barr said. “The industry supports thousands of local businesses and tens of thousands of jobs.

“This Budget supports the growth of Canberra’s international connectivity, the visitor economy and job creation across the sector.

“These initiatives will continue to promote Canberra as a tourism, trade and business destination.”