Tourists spent nearly $97 billion in overnight travel in Australia during the last 12 months, the latest figures from Tourism Research Australia show.

The National Visitor Survey, released today, and the recently released International Visitor Survey, show the tourism industry is now exceeding the Tourism 2020 growth targets.

A joint initiative between industry and government, Tourism 2020 was conceived in 2009 and included a stretch target of reaching between $115 billion and $140 billion in overnight visitor spending by the year 2020. Forecast linear trend growth at the time was estimated at $97 billion , which, on the figures released today, has been achieved four years early.

Total overnight visitor spending has increased 22 per cent since 2013 and is now on track to exceed the Tourism 2020 target.

The Coalition’s policy to return responsibility for domestic tourism marketing to the States and Territories, and refocus Tourism Australia on offshore marketing, has paid dividends with spending by international tourists surging by 36 per cent since 2013.

The Coalition has committed a record $629 million in funding for Tourism Australia to further boost Australia’s offshore marketing capacity.

Stellar growth in international tourist arrivals has been complemented by strong growth in domestic travel, with the number of overnight trips growing seven per cent to a record 88.9 million, and the number of nights spent away increasing five per cent to 328 million.

Overnight business trips increased to 18.6 million, with spen ding up 11 per cent to a record of $15.5 billion.

The Northern Territory has been a standout destination for domestic tourists in the last year, with a 36 per cent increase in the number of visitors.

Sydney and Melbourne remain the two most popular destinations, while the North Coast of NSW has jumped to the third most popular destination for domestic tourists, measured by length of stay.

The National Visitor Survey is available on the Tourism Research Australia website: www.tra.gov.au