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Queensland’s domestic tourism market has reached record levels with 21.8 million domestic overnight visitors spending $15.8 billion in the past year.

The latest Tourism Research Australia data for the year ending December 2017 reveals domestic overnight visitors to Queensland increased 4.9% while domestic overnight expenditure increased 4.7% on the previous year.

The overall results were boosted by the highest numbers on record for holiday visitation, which grew 3.5% to 8.5 million trips, and holiday spend, which increased 3.9% to $7.21 billion.

Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said the figures were a vote of confidence for Queensland’s $25 billion tourism industry, stating “the latest data shows Queensland’s popularity as a holiday destination continues to grow resulting in increased holiday spending in Queensland.”

The number of interstate travellers coming to Queensland topped 6.61 million, an increase of six%, spending a record $7.48 billion, while interstate travellers’ trips within Queensland grew 4.4% and represented almost 70% of the domestic market.

Minister Jones added “from Coolangatta to Cooktown, from the Great Barrier Reef to the Outback, Queensland has the most diverse tourism offering in the country.

“Our domestic visitor market is really our bread and butter and these figures are proof our tourism industry continues to go from strength to strength.

“We’re committed to ensuring that growth continues. That’s why we’re investing an extra $170 million in this sector in this term of government to improve access to our destinations and to support local operators to develop new attractions.”

The latest figures also show business travel increased 10.4%% to 4.9 million visitors.

Domestic travel increased year-on-year for six of Queensland’s 11 tourism regions with the Southern Great Barrier Reef reaching record highs in holiday visitation.

Minister Jones said the ongoing success of Tourism and Events Queensland’s events strategy for Brisbane had a positive impact on the city’s domestic visitation results following the delivery of headline events like the Brisbane International, Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe exhibition, NRL Brisbane Double Header, Manny Pacquiao v Jeff Horn Battle of Brisbane 1, QPAC International Series: The Royal Ballet, Bledisloe Cup and Rugby League World Cup and The Ashes in 2017.

She advised that while severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie impacted several tourism regions in 2017, the industry had shown its resilience, concluding “through Tourism and Events Queensland, the Queensland Government will continue to deliver engaging marketing campaigns to promote the state’s best visitor experiences.”

Images: The Glasshouse Mountains on the Sunshine Coast (top) and dinosaur bones at the Eromanga Natural History Museum (below).

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