Tourism figures in Newfoundland and Labrador are up despite the current world-wide economic downturn, the province announced Tuesday.

"When global economic conditions led to predictions of poor tourism performance across the country, we made a conscious decision to continue to market aggressively outside the province," Clyde Jackman, the minister of tourism, culture and recreation, said in a news release. "These efforts are clearly paying off."

More than 70,000 people used their services in 2009 up to the end of July, provincial visitor information centres said, a nine per cent increase over the same period in 2008.

Overall, non-resident visits increased 0.7 per cent over the same period in 2008. Camping in provincial parks was up by 18 per cent ,and the number of people travelling to the province on Marine Atlantic ferries rose by 4.4 per cent, the province said.

Provincial statistics also show more Newfoundlanders are vacationing closer to home. Resident traffic — people exiting the province — is down almost one per cent, Marine Atlantic said.

"We recognize these are preliminary figures," Jackman said. "However, given the impact of economic conditions on the national and international travel industry, we are very encouraged by our performance to date."

A group that represents the tourism industry agrees.

"Many [tourism] operators say they're doing better than anticipated and, in some cases, numbers are actually up over last year," said Bruce Sparkes, president of Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador. "Operators are seeing many resident visitors this year, indicating that people are staying closer to home."