Queensland confirmed as Australia’s favourite holiday destination

• Queensland welcomes 26 million domestic visitors in the year to March 2023.   
• Record number of interstate holiday makers.
• Domestic and international visitors spend $32.9 billion. 

New Tourism Research Australia data for the year to March 2023 confirms Queensland as Australia’s top holiday destination.

A record 11.3 million Australians holidayed in Queensland, up 24 percent, delivering an unprecedented 50.5 million holiday nights and a nation-leading $16.7 billion, 29.8 per cent share of holiday Overnight Visitor Expenditure.

Interstate holiday makers to Queensland jumped 17 per cent on pre-Covid data to a record 3.9 million, spending $9.8 billion in the year to March 2023.

Brisbane (2.46 million), the Sunshine Coast (2.48 million) and the Fraser Coast (460,000) welcomed more domestic holiday visitors than ever before with total visitors to the Gold Coast hitting a record 4.22 million.

10 of Queensland’s 11 tourism regions broke records for domestic visitor spending.

Spending on business travel to Queensland including conventions and conferences was up 12.7 per cent on pre-pandemic 2019 data to a record $4.5 billion.

Overall, Queensland welcomed a record 26 million domestic visitors and 1.3 million international visitors generating $29.3 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively, for a $32.9 billion total visitor spend.

In the year to March 2023, New Zealand was Queensland’s leading source of international visitors, followed by the UK, US, India and Japan.

Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said: 

“These terrific results show the full recovery of Queensland’s domestic visitor economy from the wrecking ball of the global Covid pandemic.

“In the last year, more Australians shared Queensland’s great lifestyle and spent more holiday nights here than ever before, confirming our place as the nation’s top holiday destination.

“This record-breaking data reflects the hard work and commitment of Queensland tourism operators to maximising the opportunities of the industry’s Towards Tourism 2032 roadmap.

“We’re also seeing encouraging signs of international recovery as the Palaszczuk Government’s $200 million aviation war chest continues to reconnect and promote Queensland to the world.”

Patricia O’Callaghan CEO, Tourism and Events Queensland said:

“We’re Australia’s top holiday state, and we want to make sure we stay on top.

“Tourism operators across the State are focused on keeping Queensland top of mind for holiday and business travel and achieving more visitor records. 

“We know external economic factors have potential to impact growth, so it’s never been more important to work with our partners to convert holiday intentions into Queensland holiday bookings.

“TEQ’s It’s live! In Queensland events calendar has locked in more than 130 events between now and Christmas to bring more domestic visitors to more Queensland destinations.

“Right now, there are 30 campaigns active globally to drive international demand for world-class Queensland visitor experiences.”   

Media: 0427 475 089.