It's official, this is the biggest Christmas and summer season in the City in ten years. In fact, the City just witnessed the biggest December ever on record, and there's no need to take my word for it - it's all in the latest spend and foot traffic data.
Hello again,
It's official, this is the biggest Christmas and summer season in the City in ten years. In fact, the City just witnessed the biggest December ever on record, and there's no need to take my word for it - it's all in the latest spend and foot traffic data.
Spend and foot traffic through the roof
🔼 Total spend for the City of Perth was $400M for December 2023 (an all-time record) – an increase of 19.1 per cent versus December 2022 where the total spend was $336M.
🔼 All up - more than one million people (approx. 1.25M) visited the City during December just gone. The corresponding figure for December 2022 was 900,000.
The City was the place to be this Christmas
These record numbers were boosted by our festive events programs which proved once again that Christmas lives here, in the City of Light:
🔼 The Rio Tinto Christmas Lights Trail saw its own record all-time attendance, up 18.5 per cent on last year to 460,000 people (up from 384,000 in 2022).
🔼 New Year's Eve at Elizabeth Quay presented by Roy Hill saw 50,000 spectators, up a staggering 50 per cent versus December 2022.
🔼 The Carnival Amusements Elizabeth Quay Fun Fair and Cardile Fireworks Light Shows pulled 120,000 visitors this season, up 30 per cent on 2022.
🔼 And Carols in the Park presented by True North was up 50 per cent on 2022, drawing a capacity 12,000 people at Supreme Court Gardens.
Number one in the nation
These are extraordinary numbers for Perth and I couldn’t be prouder. On a per capita basis on every measure, total spend, people numbers and office occupancy, Perth was the number one capital city in Australia during December.
Coming out of COVID people were trying to tell me the city was finished, now we’re number one in the country. More than 1.2 million visitors in December.
We're seeing reward for effort
This is a stunning result and caps an incredible turnaround. Our City has met the challenge of the shopping centres head on and triumphed.
I’ve had hundreds of people tell me there is an incredible buzz back in the city – it reminds them of when they were kids. The city is once again the place to be and I’m absolutely thrilled our tireless efforts to promote central Perth as a destination is being rewarded.
Our team has built a free events program and created an atmosphere which has drawn people in in record numbers. There’s more to do right here in the city, a greater variety of things to do for families, couples and all our visitors, and the growth of our Christmas Lights Trail and the spectacular summer series of City of Light shows at Elizabeth Quay has been phenomenal.
I want to thank Roy Hill, Rio Tinto and Lotterywest in particular for helping us deliver these world-class events.
Highlights from the Christmas season
A picture says a thousand words. Here's some recent highlights.
The summer of events continues! Next up it's the Australia Day City of Light Show proudly supported by Hancock Prospecting on 26 January, and what a day it will be. Check out all of the details of what's on this Australia Day as we Respect, Reflect and Celebrate with an array of vibrant entertainment for all ages and adrenaline levels before the Perth skyline lights up with fireworks and drones from 8.15pm.
The month-long FRINGE WORLD also kicks off on 19 January, followed by Perth Festival and much, much more in February, proving the City is the place to be this summer. You name it, we’ve got it, right here in the City of Light!
As always, I value your direct feedback, please feel free to contact me at basil.zempilas@cityofperth.wa.gov.au
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