Arts tourism is growing nationwide and cultural activities are the fourth most popular outing for tourists, a report on national spending on arts has found.
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According to the Arts Nation report released by the Australia Council for the Arts, the number of international arts tourists grew by about 400,000 over three years, to almost 2.4 million in 2013-14.
This included about 1.8 million tourists who visited national museums or art galleries, including those in the ACT.
VisitCanberra director Ian Hill said the number of visitors coming to Canberra from both overseas and interstate had steadily increased in recent years.
"We attract between 1.8 million and 2 million visitors depending on seasonal variation," he said. "Cultural tourism has always been an important part of the proposition for Canberra.
"If you look at something like the Australian War Memorial it's been voted the No. 1 landmark in Australia on TripAdvisor. [Tourists] are saying this is the best attraction in Australia and it happens to be a cultural attraction.
"That's higher than the Sydney Harbour Bridge or the Opera House."
Mr Hill said the tourism industry was important to the ACT economy, pouring about $1.8 billion into the territory's coffers while employing about 17,000 Canberrans.
"It's one of the largest private sector contributors and it really helps diversify our economy," he said.
"Obviously we are the nation's capital and the federal government has a big impact on what happens here but the visitor economy is a big part going forward."
Mr Hill said VisitCanberra wanted to see a $2.5 billion tourism industry in the ACT by 2020, bolstered by its special events fund and new attractions such as the Noodle Night Markets.
In total states and territories provided about $3.2 billion towards cultural funding across Australia in the 2012-13 financial year, with corporate sponsorship paying for another $30 million on the side.
