The Chief Minister is leading an eight day ACT Government trade mission to the United States with a focus on aviation, tourism, investment, medical research and economic development.
Participants in the mission include Visit Canberra, the Commissioner for International Engagement and the Australian National University.
The United States is the ACT’s third largest inbound international tourism market. This comprises government, defence, business, education and leisure travel.
Following the successful commencement of twice weekly direct Fiji Airways services to Canberra in July 2023, there is potential to grow these services further. From October, a third weekly flight has been scheduled, adding nearly 9,000 additional inbound seats per year. Canberrans also benefit from more direct services with travel to multiple US destinations possible without having to fly via Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.
The Government, in partnership with Tourism Australia, Fiji Airways and Visit Canberra is seeking to further grow demand out of the United States to Canberra. This significantly enhances the prospect of additional flights being added to Fiji Airways weekly schedule between Canberra and Nadi.
The Territory Government is also seeking to enhance connectivity with the US east coast and south through one stop transits between Canberra and New York (via Auckland) and Canberra and Dallas.
The United States is one of the ACT’s strongest international partners. The nation is identified as a key market in the ACT Government’s International Engagement Strategy and T2030: ACT Tourism Strategy 2023 – 2030 and is Australia’s largest economic partner. In the 2022 calendar year, USA foreign direct investment into Australia amounted to $1.1 trillion, with total Australian exports to the USA amounting to $30.7 billion.
The trade mission departs Australia this morning and includes Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC. The Mission concludes on Wednesday 4 October (US time). The Chief Minister will meet with Australian Ambassador the Hon. Kevin Rudd, Senior Austrade and DFAT executives, Tourism Australia, Fiji Airways, US Travel agents, US Investors, US Government officials, the President of the American Australian Association, medical research companies and several cultural and live performance venues. The estimated cost of the Chief Minister’s delegation is around $55,000, subject to fluctuations in the exchange rate.
The goal of the mission is to further develop the ACT’s position as a desirable location for US tourists, a safe place to invest, a leader in innovation, and Australia’s knowledge and research capital. The ACT Government’s International Engagement Strategy is outlined here: International Engagement and Trade – Business and Innovation.
