NSW remains the undisputed number one destination in Australia, with a record 3.3 million international visitors in the last year.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said the data showed NSW events created record volumes of international visitors, nights stayed and expenditure.

“Visitors to NSW stayed a total of 79.7 million nights, with visitor expenditure hitting a record $7.7 billion,” Mr Ayres said.

“Importantly, we continue to see significant increases in visitor numbers, with a six per cent rise compared to the year ended June 2014. Our visitors also spent 10.3 per cent more than a year ago and stayed almost six per cent more nights.”

The second highest State was Victoria, recording 2.27 million international visitors, ahead of Queensland with 2.23 million visitors – both 1 million less than NSW.

During the last quarter NSW held Vivid Sydney, the world’s largest festival of light, music and ideas, attracting a record 1.7 million attendees.

“There’s nothing like seeing Vivid transform our city.  I have no doubt this is why we are seeing such fantastic growth in international visitor numbers,” Mr Ayres added.

Over 26,000 visitors came to Sydney for Vivid on international travel packages, with more than 11,000 packages sold in China alone.

There was significant growth in visitors to Regional NSW reaching 673,900 visitors – an increase of 9.6 per cent over the year.

Five regions posted significant growth in visitation: North Coast (292,300 visitors, +9.3 per cent), Hunter (164,300, +14.5 per cent), Blue Mountains (99,500, +18.3 per cent), South Coast (124,800, +12.3 per cent) and Outback NSW (13,300, +49.1 per cent).

These strong regional results coincided with digital and traditional campaigns showcasing the Hunter Valley, Port Stephens, Blue Mountains, South Coast, the Legendary Pacific Coast and the Outback.