SEPTEMBER 20, 2017: The National Visitor Survey, released today, held good news for the region.There was a 16 per cent increase in Mackay visitor numbers over the past twelve months, and those visitors are staying longer and spending more.The National Visitor Survey showed 883,000 Australian tourists visited Mackay, staying an average of four nights and spending $380 million for the year ending June 2017.It comes after the International Visitor Survey (IVS), released earlier this month, revealed 45,000 international tourists visited Mackay, staying an average of 10 nights and spending $21 million during the same period.That's a combined total of 928,000 tourists visiting the Mackay region, staying for between 4 and 10 nights and spending $401 million.The picture for the Whitsundays was that it's holding firm as a favoured destination for Aussie holidaymakers. There was a 1 per cent rise in visitor numbers, but the length of time spent has jumped by 17 per cent over the 12 month period. 518,000 Australian tourists visited the Whitsundays, staying an average of five nights and spending $526 million for the year ending June 2017.The recent International Visitor Survey (IVS) revealed 241,000 international tourists visited the Whitsundays, staying an average of six nights and spending $196 million during the same period.That's a combined total of 759,000 tourists staying for between 5 and 6 nights and spending $722 million.The NVS and IVS are produced by Tourism Research Australia and available at: www.tra.gov.au.