Like a sibling rivalry, it’s competition time between Victoria and New South Wales.

NSW has once again taken the top spot as favourite destination for Australia, with the largest number of international visitors in 2014 according to the latest International Visitor Survey (IVS).

In 2014, Victoria welcomed 2.1 million international visitors, up 8.9% over the previous year, right behind NSW who brought in a record breaking 3.2 million, which while larger grew slower at a rate of 5.4%.

The Victorian Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren said the state is actively chasing NSW and is confident it can beat it one day soon.

“We’re closing in on NSW when it comes to visitor expansion and we’re closing in fast,” Eren said.

“Melbourne has been voted the world’s most livable city for four years in a row now, and we have the best events calendar in the world and are intent on keeping it that way.”

“We outperform state competitors and are growing faster than anyone else in the nation, with a growth rate of 8.9% from the previous year, well ahead of the national average.”

“We are aggressively chasing every event, and have a message for NSW: if you have a major event worth taking, we’re coming for it.”

“We’ve added an extra $80 million over four years for major events, and are intent on making sure we continue strengthening this industry, which is a true success story in our state.”

“No state does major events like Victoria and we will continue to work harder to stay ahead of the pack.”

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said the latest results confirm NSW is still Australia’s number one destination, and holds a strong lead over the rest of the nation, with international visitation worth more than $7 billion to the State’s economy.

“The number of international visitors to NSW increased by 6.7 per cent to 3.2 million, with international visitors spending nearly 76 million nights in NSW,” Ayres said.

“Sydney continues to lead all Australian capital cities, welcoming more than 3 million international visitors for the first time, while Regional NSW was also a big winner with more than 635,000 international visitors, an increase of 6.9 per cent.”

Destination NSW’s chief executive officer Sandra Chipchase said the state’s hard work has led to the state reaffirming its position as a leader in drawing international visitors.

“NSW has once again held its spot as the number one state for visitors, visitor nights and visitor expenditure,” she said.

“This is thanks to our calendar of world class events in both Sydney and Regional NSW, investments in infrastructure and the focus on developing new products and experiences and marketing innovations in partnerships across the industry.”

“Recent highlights include the visits of international football giants Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur, the Opening Series of Major League Baseball, the Sydney International Art Series and the upcoming Australian premiere of Matilda: The Musical.

“Destination NSW is also continuing to expand the Vivid Sydney Festival, which it owns and manages. In 2014, this event was named as Australian Event of the Year, attracted a record 1.43 million visitors and delivered more than $41 million of economic benefit to the NSW economy.”

Tourism Australia’s managing director John O’Sullivan said that with the latest IVS stats coming in, it was clear just how strong an industry tourism is.

“There’s been a flurry of tourism data released in recent weeks and what’s so pleasing is that it all reinforces just how well our industry is performing –  the substantial contribution that tourism continues to make to the Australian economy,” he said.

“The latest IVS figures round off what was a record-breaking 2014, both in terms of international arrivals and the money they inject into our visitor economy.

The Sunshine Coast has also thrown itself into the battle, once again taking its places as the destination with the highest inbound growth in Queensland.

The region has attracted an increase of 15.7% in international visitors in 2014, with the dollars from these tourists growing 17% to a record $219.5 million in the same period.

Australia overall has jumped up 7.5% in international visitors, while Queensland climbed up the ladder by 5.5%, with Tropical North Queensland and the Gold Coast taking the bulk of growth after the Sunshine Coast.