INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS STAY LONGER IN TOWNSVILLE

International tourists are spending longer in Townsville, with new figures showing a 13 per cent increase in visitor nights, says Tourism Minister Margaret Keech.

Mrs Keech said the latest International Visitor Survey (IVS) results showed the increase was driven largely by the holiday and business market.

“Yet even more so by the holiday visitor night figures which showed an increase of 23 per cent,” Mrs Keech said.

“The holiday visitor accounts for 83 per cent of the total international market to Townsville.

“The region is truly one of Queensland’s most iconic holiday destinations.

Mrs Keech said the strong results were driven by an increase in visitor nights from important markets including Germany and the United Kingdom

“Townsville is very popular with the Europeans,” Mrs Keech said.

“Visitors from these two markets represented 41 per cent of the overall international visitor nights.

“Townsville is also increasingly being known as a backpacker haven.

“These new figures show that 59 per cent of international visitors to the region classed themselves as backpackers, up 5 per cent from last year.

“In fact, 23 per cent of all international backpacker nights spent in Queensland are spent in Townsville.”

Overall, Townsville attracted 136,784 international visitors in 2006.

Mrs Keech said the great results were a testament to the hard work being done by Tourism Queensland and industry in these markets.

“It is great to see the effort paying off in the Townsville region,” Mrs Keech said.

“More importantly, the result equals real economic returns and more job opportunities for Queensland communities.

“Tourism is Queensland’s second biggest export industry putting more than $3.6 billion into Queenslanders’ pockets every year.”

Media Contact: Jo Gibbons 3224 2007 or David Smith 3225 1005 or 0409 496 534