Preparations for Canberra’s 2019 Floriade festival have begun with Chief Minister, Andrew Barr announcing the theme for the annual event to be World in Bloom.
Mr Barr said Floriade attracted thousands of tourists to the nation’s capital and visitors would see the World in Bloom theme reflected in flowerbeds and the event’s programming.
“Floriade NightFest returns for four nights to take in the Labour Day long weekend from Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 October with spectacular new lighting displays and live entertainment to be announced in coming months,” Mr Barr said.
“Visitors to Commonwealth Park will see the park transform over the next four-and-a-half months, remaining open until mid-August when it closes for final preparations.”
He said the hallmark event on the Australian events calendar continued to perform strongly.
“Last year’s event attracted 480,540 people, an increase of more than 45,000 from 2017,” Mr Barr said.
“Major events in Canberra not only bring vibrancy to the city, they also contribute significantly to the visitor economy and the value of tourism in the ACT,” he said.
“Floriade 2018 had an economic impact of $38.6 million, with 48.1 per cent of visitors attending the event from interstate or overseas.”
Mr Barr said Floriade contributed to record domestic overnight visitor numbers of 2.75 million to the year ending December 2018, according to Tourism Research Australia’s latest data.
“The ACT is on track to reach its $2.5 billion tourism target,” he said.
