International tourism expenditure up to $5.3 billion
The latest international tourism statistics to the year ending September 2017 show an impressive 2.5% increase in expenditure by international visitors to a staggering $5.3 billion reports Tourism and Events Queensland.
Total visitors saw an increase of 3% to a total of 2.6 million. Each of the 11 tourism regions in Queensland recorded growth in holiday visitation, while Brisbane hit record high numbers with a 4.6% increase to 1.237 million visitors.
Markets by expenditure
Market |
Expenditure ($ million) |
China |
$1,078 |
New Zealand |
$582 |
Japan |
$423 |
UK |
$422 |
USA |
$360 |
Taiwan |
$229 |
Korea |
$201 |
Germany |
$192 |
Hong Kong |
$183 |
India |
$145 |
Canada |
$130 |
Singapore |
$128 |
Scandinavia |
$113 |
Malaysia |
$108 |
France |
$85 |
Rest of the world |
$906 |
International visitation by region
Region |
No. of visitors |
Year on year increase/decrease |
Brisbane |
1,237,000 |
4.6% increase |
Fraser Coast |
151,000 |
10.7% increase |
Gold Coast |
1,056,000 |
4.2% increase |
Mackay |
50,000 |
3.5% increase |
Outback |
27,000 |
2.9% decrease |
Southern Great Barrier Reef |
157,000 |
18.3% increase |
Southern QLD Country |
294,000 |
8.5% increase |
Tropical North QLD |
890,000 |
1.5% increase |
Townsville |
138,000 |
10.5% increase |
Whitsundays |
247,000 |
8.2% increase |
With regards to purpose of visit; holiday was the leading reason with 1,831,000 (up 2.9%), followed by visiting of family and relatives with 630,000 (up 7.7%), 177,000 for business (up 7.1%), and 115,000 for education (up 18.1%).