Spending by international visitors holidaying in Queensland last year jumped by almost a third, driving record results.
State Tourism Minister Andrew Powell said international visitor expenditure reached a record $6.9 billion in the year ending June, with Queensland welcoming 2.2 million visitors from overseas.
Minister Powell said spending by holidaymakers increased by 32.1 percent, accounting for $3.5 billion of the total.
He said the biggest spenders travelled from New Zealand, China, the United Kingdom, the USA and Japan.
“The latest data from Tourism Research Australia shows international spending in the Sunshine State hit a record $6.9 billion in the year ending June 2025, up 10.6 percent over the previous year.
“The number of overseas travellers descending on the State also rose by 2.7 percent from last year, to a whopping 2.2 million people.”
Minister Powell said the result saw Queensland outpace the national average growth rate in international holiday visitor expenditure, with New Zealanders leading the charge, splashing a record $1.02 billion and making 490,000 trips to the State.
He said Queensland also saw big jumps from India, France and Taiwan, with Taiwan now the state’s eighth largest international market.
“Tourists splashed their cash in hotspots like the Gold Coast ($1.5 billion), Tropical North Queensland ($1.2 billion), the Sunshine Coast ($413.4 million), the Whitsundays ($254.0 million), Queensland Country ($149.4 million) and the Southern Great Barrier Reef ($128.4 million) – all hitting new records.”
Minister Powell said across the country, Australians kept choosing to explore Queensland, with total domestic visitor spending hitting $33.3 billion during the period.
He said Queensland was the third largest market by total visitor expenditure behind New South Wales ($42 billion) and Victoria ($33.9 billion).
Tourism and Events Queensland CEO Craig Davidson said Queensland’s holiday proposition was resonating strongly in overseas markets.
“International demand is translating to real benefits for operators across the state,” Mr Davidson said.
“While domestic conditions showed some variation, Queensland still achieved 4.6 percent growth, which is well ahead of the national average of 1.3 percent.
“Our holiday proposition is clearly hitting the mark, and we’ll keep momentum going with campaigns and events that inspire travel to Queensland.”
