New Year boost for Gold Coast tourism

Almost 3.5 million Australians spent $3.2 billion on visits to the Gold Coast in the year to March 2014, buoyed by a New Year boost in travel according to new figures released today. 

Tourism Minister Jann Stuckey said Tourism Research Australia’s latest National Visitor Survey showed a strong start to the New Year for the Gold Coast’s tourism industry with visitor expenditure up 1.5%. 

“Australians flocked to the Gold Coast for a summer break with holiday numbers growing twelve per cent between January and March compared with the same time the year prior,” Ms Stuckey said. 

“Gold Coast holidays were particularly popular with Melbournians with travel from the key interstate market also increasing 11.3 per cent during the year to March 2014. 

“It shows the Government’s election promise to grow tourism and its strong plan for the industry is producing results and creating a bright future for the industry.”

Head of Flight Centre Australia Tom Walley said Queensland continued to be a popular choice for Flight Centre customers during summer and certainly the January - March quarter of 2014 proved a busy booking period.  

“Queensland symbolises the traditional family break, particularly for southerners, with family-friendly holiday hotspots such as the Gold Coast, Hamilton Island and Fraser Island all offering a range of fun activities from theme parks to surf schools,” Mr Walley said. 

Ms Stuckey said the Government’s 20 year plan for tourism, Destination Success, provided a shared purpose and common goal between industry and government. 

“Our focus is on preserving and growing the value of the domestic market, remembering the many Queenslanders who holiday in the state and many Australians who visit Queensland,” Ms Stuckey said. 

“The figures released today represent a six per cent increase in domestic visitor spending in Queensland over a three-year trend. 

“Throughout the year, Tourism and Events Queensland has worked in partnership with Gold Coast Tourism on a range of marketing activities including a pre-summer Famous for Fun ‘And Action’ campaign in partnership with Gold Coast Airport and Jetstar, an interstate Famous for Fun ‘And Action’ pre-winter campaign and a Gold Coast supplement distributed through News Limited publications.” 

Ms Stuckey said tourism was one of the four pillars of the Queensland economy and the Government would continue to support the industry towards the goal of increasing domestic and international overnight visitor expenditure to $30 billion by 2020. 

More information about Tourism Research Australia’s National Visitor Survey for the year ended March 2014 is available at – teq.queensland.com 

Audio available here: https://soundcloud.com/jannstuckey/goldcoast1 

[ENDS] 9 July 2014 

Media Contact: Minister Stuckey’s office: 3719 7240 / 0408 410 930