Australian Capital Tourism’s new campaign has caught the attention of tens of thousands of Australians, engaging applicants through popular social media channels.

31,406 people applied to visit the national capital as part of the ACT’s ‘500 Humans’ project.

Australian Capital Tourism received applications from every state and territory in Australia, with the majority from New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

“Inviting people to come along and experience some of the many great things there are to see and do in their capital and then share their experience through their social media networks is a great way of building greater advocacy,” Australian Capital Tourism director Ian Hill said.

PR and marketing initiatives featured on social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook reached more than three million people.

Visit Canberra’s Facebook page witnessed an increase of 380 percent.

The first 250 successful applicants will visit Canberra on the weekend of 26 to 28 October, while the other half of candidates will travel to the ACT on 15-17 February 2013.

“We’re proud of our city’s attractions and tourism experiences look forward to welcoming the 500 Australians who will help us create the world’s first Human Brochure - online content produced and shared by visitors for all to see,” Mr Hill said.

Australian Capital Tourism and Centenary of Canberra recently revealed the summer-autumn schedule of events commemorating the 100 year history of the nation’s capital.