Amid predictions the industry could have been facing a $6 million loss due to the earlier-than-usual shutdown of Parliament over winter, the tourism body has come up with a plan it says will counter the absence of the politicians, staffers and lobbyists, by attracting more families and other tourists.

Australian Capital Tourism director Ian Hill said a key part of the campaign was a partnership with booking agency wotif.com that will see Canberra promoted through its extensive network for the first two weeks of July. Mr Hill said wotif had a database of 1.6 million subscribers, received 5 million visitors per month and had more than 100,000 Facebook friends.

''We're partnering with them to run some dedicated media and promotion as a short-break destination, which will include packages for couples and family getaways and utilising their distribution channels to promote Canberra,'' he said. There would be advertisements, specials, emails and social media via the wotif channels all ''talking up Canberra''.

''They are a major player for accommodation bookings in Canberra, as they are across Australia,'' Mr Hill said.

There was also a planned promotional blitz in the Sydney and regional markets of coming centenary events.

Australian Capital Tourism also contributed towards the promotion of the Turner from the Tate exhibition, which opens on Saturday at the National Gallery of Australia.

Total investment for the campaign was about $900,000.

''Those three things combined make, for us, a fairly aggressive approach to trying to attract some visitation during what we think will be a fairly challenging period,'' Mr Hill said.

The September 14 federal poll meant the break for politicians from Canberra would be twice as long as non-election years, causing concern within the accommodation industry.

The focus for winter campaigns was on food and wine experiences, the proximity to the snowfields and the change-of-climate for those who wanted a by-the-fireside experience.

Australian Hotels Association ACT general manager Brad Watts welcomed the new campaign.

''A recent AHA ACT survey found Canberra's accommodation hotels faced a very bleak outlook over winter but this campaign, combined with the National Gallery's new blockbuster, will certainly help to warm industry's spirits,'' he said.

''Industry has been urgently calling for government support for the hotel and hospitality sector after releasing an AHA member survey in February that showed Canberra's hospitality and tourism sector would lose more than $6 million in revenue due to the longer than usual parliamentary shutdown for the election.

''Accommodation hotels - and hospitality businesses around Canberra - heavily rely on income from Parliament sitting weeks. Let's hope this major new accommodation campaign with wotif can help industry thrive until spring.''