A SIGNIFICANT rebound in hotel occupancy rates has suggested that Canberra is embracing domestic tourism better in the pandemic than the rest of Australia.

Occupancy in commercial accommodation rose to 73.2 per cent last month, well ahead of the national average rate of 60.7 per cent.

The figures from STR Global, a hotel industry data researcher, had found within 12 months Canberra had leaped from a low 13.7 per cent at the early onset of COVID-19 restrictions.

Sydney also reported its highest occupancy for 14 months, but hotels in Australia’s largest and internationally-renowned city only reached a 56.7 per cent intake rate in a comparable STR Global study.

The ACT government has attributed the “positive” accommodation results and gaining the jump on rival capitals to its investment in the tourism industry to encourage more visitors.

Buoyed by the timely boost, an ambitious goal has been set of growing the territory’s total annual domestic visitor spend to $2.5 billion by mid-2022, according to ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, from pouring $1.28 billion into the economy in September last year.

“[The government] is investing in our visitor economy to support economic development, create opportunities for tourism businesses to drive demand, develop new initiatives and create jobs,” Mr Barr said.

“Our region is now being serviced by the most extensive domestic aviation network in our history, and competition between airlines is making it cheaper and easier to visit Canberra.”

It comes after discounted flights from Rex Airlines to Sydney were extended to Melbourne this week.

That tourism growth could expand exponentially across the Tasman after the government looks to connect up flights directly with New Zealand.

The government has been lobbying for a travel bubble after Canberra airport had proposed quarantine-free travel between the two country’s capitals earlier this year.

The Tourism Cooperative Marketing Fund is providing funding to local tourism operators for campaigns that seek to attract visitors to the ACT.

To date, the government initiative has invested in 24 projects to benefit 87 businesses.

A COVID-Safe Tourism Co-Investment Program whose $750,000 funding project has also boosted 15 new tourism-related businesses while $2.7 million invested into new product and experiences has included dining domes to cellar door outdoor seating and night safaris at the National Zoo and Aquarium to ice age exhibits at the National Dinosaur Museum.