Queensland’s attraction for international tourists is showing signs of recovery after the dismal COVID-19 pandemic years.
Overseas short-term visitor figures for March 2024, released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, showed a 42 percent jump in Queensland visitor numbers over the past 12 months.
This was by far the highest percentage of any state (Victoria was next at 25 percent) and the monthly arrival figure of 159,500 was broadly in line with the 2019 (pre-COVID) March figure of 166,420, and well above the 2022 figure of 30,990.
In total, short-term visitor arrivals were highest in NSW at 282,310 and Victoria was higher than Queensland at 199,120.
Across the country, short-term arrivals sat at 761,050 in March, up 24 percent on the same month in 2023. During the month, more people left Australia for short-term travel than arrived.
Despite the recovery, total incoming trips to Australia were still nine percent lower than the pre-COVID period.
New Zealand was Australia’s biggest visitor market with 115,270 trips in the month, followed by the US at 84,770 and the UK at 78,820.
More details are on the ABS website.
