Australians spend $29.7b on domestic overnight stays as day-trip surge drives tourism momentum

Australians spent $29.7 billion on overnight domestic stays in the March quarter of 2026, up 3 per cent year-on-year, while day trip spending surged 30 per cent to $13 billion as the tourism sector showed resilience in the face of cost-of-living pressures and weather disruptions.

Tourism Research Australia's (TRA) latest Domestic Tourism Statistics show overnight trips held steady at 28.9 million and nights were on par at 105.6 million compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

The standout was the day trip segment, which climbed 9 per cent to 71.2 million trips alongside the sharp jump in spending.

TRA notes a stronger March helped offset softer results earlier in the quarter, with Tropical Cyclone Alfred having dampened travel activity across parts of eastern Australia during the prior corresponding period.

Accommodation is the largest component of overnight domestic spend at $8.5 billion, followed by takeaway and restaurant meals at $4.5 billion, domestic airfares at $4.1 billion, petrol at $3.2 billion and groceries at $1.8 billion.

The data is drawn from TRA's new Domestic Tourism Statistics methodology, which replaced the longstanding National Visitor Survey from January 2025.

TRA has cautioned that year-on-year comparisons using backcast pre-2025 data should be treated carefully due to the methodological change, a caveat that applies to all percentage movements in the latest release.

Meanwhile, the International Visitor Survey for the March quarter revealed solid gains compared to a year earlier despite flight disruptions resulting from the initial stages of the Middle East conflict.

Australia welcomed a total of 8.5 million international visitors in the year to the end of March, up 20 per cent from a year earlier, while total international spending in Australia of $40.9 billion was up 20 per cent.

March quarter spending in Australia was up 15 per cent to $13 billion compared to a year earlier, while nights spent in Australia for the quarter were up by 10 per cent and trips to Australia were up by 9 per cent.

The strength in spend was driven by travel for educational purposes, which was up by 15 per cent or $768 million, and holiday travel, up 17 per cent or $562 million.

The report reveals strong growth in travel by visitors from China drove the results in the quarter with trips by Chinese visitors up 25 per cent, or 71,000, while nights spent in Australia were up by 34 per cent (or 6.1 million) and their spend was up by 14 per cent (or $556 million) compared with the March quarter 2025.

Chinese holiday travellers’ trips and spend rose significantly, up 48 per cent and 53 per cent respectively, driven by the longest Lunar New Year holiday on record, creating strong demand for premium summer experiences such as those offered in Australia.

Queensland, meanwhile, has seized on the latest figures to stake a claim as Australia's dominant tourism destination.

The state government says total visitor expenditure in Queensland, combining international and domestic spend, hit $45.5 billion, with international visitor expenditure reaching a record $8.2 billion.

Some 2.4 million international visitors travelled to Queensland, with China the top source market at $1.6 billion in expenditure, up 90.6 per cent.

“Queensland is leading the nation, and these results show our tourism industry is growing strongly - supporting jobs, businesses and communities right across the state,” says Queensland Tourism Minister Andrew Powell.

Tourism and Events Queensland CEO Craig Davidson attributes the strong performance to a combination of aviation connectivity, targeted marketing campaigns and sustained investment in major events.

“Record international visitor expenditure, supported by steady domestic demand, is underpinning Queensland’s $45.5 billion visitor economy,” says Davidson.

“We are seeing the benefits of increased aviation connectivity, targeted marketing and continued investment in experiences and events that are converting demand into visitation.”