Chief Minister Andrew Barr is leading an eight-day ACT Government trade mission to the United States focused on aviation, tourism, investment, medical research, and economic development.

The trade mission left Australia this morning, and will visit Los Angeles, New York, and Washington DC. The mission concludes on Wednesday 4 October (US time).

Mr Barr  will meet the Australian Ambassador, the Hon. Kevin Rudd; senior Austrade and DFAT executives; representatives of Tourism Australia and Fiji Airways; US travel agents; US investors; US Government officials; the President of the American Australian Association; medical research companies; and visit 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 mission aims 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.

Visit Canberra, the Commissioner for International Engagement, and the Australian National University will take part in the mission.

The United States is the ACT’s third largest inbound international tourism market.  This comprises government, defence, business, education, and leisure travel. 

Twice-weekly direct Fiji Airways services to Canberra began in July, and Mr Barr believes these services can be grown further. From October, a third weekly flight has been scheduled, which will add nearly 9,000 additional inbound seats per year. 

Canberrans can fly directly to several US destinations without having to transit via Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. The ACT 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 ACT Government also seeks to enhance connectivity with the US east coast and south through one-stop transits between Canberra and New York (via Auckland) or Dallas.  

The United States is one of the ACT’s strongest international partners. It was identified as a key market in the ACT Government’s International Engagement Strategy and T2030: ACT Tourism Strategy 2023 – 2030.

The USA is also Australia’s largest economic partner. In 2022, USA foreign direct investment into Australia amounted to $1.1 trillion; total Australian exports to the USA amounted to $30.7 billion.