Canberra's Australian War Memorial remained the capital's most popular national institution last year, but the man tasked with attracting tourists and locals to Parliament House says new visitor experiences are helping close the gap.
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Analysis by The Canberra Times of on-site visitor numbers collected across Canberra's national institutions in the 2015-16 financial year showed the War Memorial easily attracted the largest crowds, with 1.084 million people, down from 1.142 million a year earlier.
When touring exhibitions and visitors to the memorial's storage facility in Mitchell are included, the number grows to 1.232 million.
Parliament House saw 725,992 visitors in the same period - slightly lower than the 759,483 a year earlier.
With 7000 people visiting Parliament House over this month's Easter long weekend, Luke Hickey, Assistant Secretary in the Parliamentary Experience branch, said years of development of specialist tours, temporary exhibitions and improvements to visitor amenities continued to pay off.
He said visitor attractions had to be balanced with Parliament's role as a workplace for thousands of politicians and staffers.
"For us at Parliament House, it's not just about providing an excellent visitor experience or day out with family or friends, it's about making sure people are leaving with a greater understanding of Australian democracy, particularly as we're getting a bigger share of foreign visitation.
"We also want people to come and see the past prime ministers and speakers and governors-general, as well as the great tourist photos up on the roof and other things people love," he said.
The National Gallery of Australia attracted 723,688 visitors, as well as about 198,000 to travelling exhibitions around Australia.
Visitor numbers at the gallery have seen a decline since 2013-14, with a 10 per cent drop blamed on the introduction of paid parking began in the Parliamentary Triangle in October 2015.
The National Arboretum recorded 530,666 visitors in 2015-16, ahead of the National Library of Australia with 483,000 visitors and the National Museum of Australia with 472,748.
Questacon had 454,251 visitors while the nearby National Portrait Gallery changed counting techniques, seeing a drop to 431,412.
The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House attracted 357,038 people - an 11 per cent increase from a year earlier.
Also growing in 2015-16 was the Australia National Botanic Gardens, with a 9 per cent increase to 452,000 people, while the Royal Australian Mint attracted 299,379 visitors in the period.
Canberra's $2 billion tourism market and iconic attractions could benefit from a federal government funded city deal with the ACT. The territory this week flagged further investment in institutions including Questacon, the National Gallery, the National Museum and the War Memorial as part of any plan.
Mr Hickey said visitor numbers remained highly competitive.
"A lot of interstate and overseas visitors will come to Canberra for a day or two. They might visit Parliament, the War Memorial and maybe a couple of other places, but they don't always get a great chance to see what else Canberra and the region has to offer.
"We're making sure we showcase some of that in everything down to the coffee, the cakes, and with seasonal stuff.
"We're not just relying on the flag on top of the building, knowing that means people will come and see us," he said.
