International holiday visitor spending in Queensland has passed pre-Covid levels for the first time.
New data from Tourism Research Australia shows overseas holidaymakers spent $3.1 billion across the state in the year ending in March, in a new record for international visitor expenditure of $6.3 billion across the 12 months.
State Tourism Minister Andrew Powell said visitors from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, France and Indonesia led the charge, all spending a record amount while they holidaying in Queensland.
Minister Powell said the new figures showed Queensland’s international aviation capacity had also rebounded strongly, dominating Australia to exceed the national average.
“Queensland’s regional drawcards have played a strong role in boosting international visitor spending, with the Gold Coast leading the charge to boost expenditure by 16.7 percent over the year to $1.3 billion,” he said.
Minister Powell said Tropical North Queensland recorded $1.08 billion (a 13.7 percent increase), followed by Southern Great Barrier Reef (up 26.5 percent to $107.5 million), Whitsundays (up 18 percent to $243.3 million), Queensland Country (up 4.5 percent to $120.4 million), and Fraser Coast (up 3.7 percent to $43.6 million).
“It’s exciting to see we’re already on track to reach the goals set out in Destination 2045, where we expect to double total visitor expenditure to reach $84 billion a year.
“With the world’s attention turning to us ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we’re in a strong position to build on this momentum and deliver long-term growth for our visitor economy.”
Tourism and Events Queensland CEO Craig Davidson said while the domestic results had softened slightly, Queensland’s resilience could not be understated.
“We know that a number of regions, including the outback, are still struggling to recover visitation after weather events earlier this year, but overall the figures show that the state has held strong,” Mr Davidson said.
