Tourism numbers to the Border region remain strong even without any noticeable increase, a peak Albury business group says.
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NSW Business Chamber regional manager Andrew Cottrill said tourism's importance to regional economies could be seen with this week's release of the National Visitor Survey.
"This is a fantastic result, and confirms that tourism is a key industry for current and future jobs growth for this region and NSW," Mr Cottrill said.
"While total visitor numbers for the Murray and Riverina were little changed over the year to March, 2019, we're still talking over one million overnight visitors annually in both regions."
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That, Mr Cottrill said, was "not insignificant".
"We are looking at overnight visitors spending roughly half a billions each in both the Murray and Riverina, while day trippers spent over $11.5 billion," he said.
Mr Cottrill said the numbers were a timely reminder "as to why it is so important" for the government to reboot the Restart funding program and ensure regional NSW got the money it was promised for infrastructure investment.
"This investment is critical to supporting regional economies and the continued growth of the tourism industry in this region," he said.
"The visitor economy is thriving, but it's a competitive space."
Mr Cottrill said that without continued investment, it would not be possible to maintain the attractiveness of the region for tourists.
"NSW is an attractive destination for visitors, and (the) figures show that the Murray Riverina is up there as an attractive and desirable place to visit," he said.
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