Brisbane grows in popularity as visitor spending hits $11.3 billion record

Brisbane has cemented its place as one of Australia’s most popular destinations with an 11.2 per cent lift in overnight visitor expenditure to a new record of $11.3 billion in 2024, driven by a sharp uptick in visits from business visitors and Victorians.

The latest Tourism Research Australia (TRA) data shows the river city saw a 14.7 million increase in total visitor nights last year to 53.7 million nights, which is also a record, while growth rates were higher still for domestic business visitor nights at 30.5 per cent and Melburnian visitor nights at 56.2 per cent.

The TRA data also shows a record $8.1 billion in visitor spending for the Gold Coast in 2024 (see more below), up 5.2 per cent on the 12 months to the end of September 2024, and up 37 per cent on pre-COVID levels. 

A record $35.3 billion was spent by visitors across the state last year, representing a 4.8 per cent lift compared to a nationwide rise of 2.1 per cent.

The Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) notes Brisbane’s popularity with southern states hit new heights, with visitors from Victoria up a record 28.1 per cent to 1.1 million, and visitors from New South Wales up 18.1 per cent to two million.

In total the Queensland capital received 9.4 million visitors who combined stayed for a total of 53.7 million nights, with international visitor numbers now 3.7 per cent above pre-COVID levels at 28.1 million nights.

Record numbers of visitors were seen from New Zealand and India, alongside a record 18.2 million visitor nights from Asia. South Korea is leading the charge at 2.8 million nights - up 37.2 per cent on 2019 while Indonesian traveller nights jumped by a record 127.5 per cent in the same period.

Visitor numbers from the UK were up 9.6 per cent on pre-COVID levels at 141,000, ahead of the USA which was up only slightly on 2019 (2.3 per cent) to 112,000. Two traditionally large sources of tourism pre-COVID, China and Japan, were down 60.4 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively at 110,000 and 46,000 visitors. 

"Brisbane is Australia’s lifestyle capital and our booming visitor economy is a win for local jobs and businesses," says Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner.

"With world-class dining, accommodation, and tourism there is more to see and do in Brisbane than ever before.

"International and interstate visitors are captivated by Brisbane’s vibrant lifestyle precincts and tourism offerings, opting to extend their stays and make the most of their time in Brisbane."

BEDA chief executive officer Anthony Ryan says Brisbane continues to shine nationally and globally as a world-class leisure and business destination, fuelling the city's growth.

"Building on brand Brisbane, BEDA and key partners are elevating the city's profile by securing global business conferences, major events, and investment opportunities,” he says.

 “In a stunning two-year transformation, expanded aviation networks have ignited a tourism boom, shattering records with an unprecedented $11.3 billion in visitor spending and a record-breaking 18.2 million visitor nights from Asia. 

“While the year started with some challenges, these results prove Brisbane is well-positioned to sustain its tourism momentum, driving long-term economic benefits into 2025.”

The latest statistics have been released after a recent drop-off in bookings in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred for Brisbane and the greater Southeast Queensland region.

This prompted a State Government-backed marketing and partnerships campaign to let people know the tourism industry is open for business with iconic attractions in great shape, including the Brisbane favours the Bold initiative.

New records achieved on the Gold Coast

Meanwhile, Experience Gold Coast announced its “spend and get’’ voucher reward program to help drive the visitor economy in the lead up to the Easter and April school holidays, in combination with the national marketing campaign alongside discounted flights and accommodation.

The Gold Coast also reported record figures for 2024 with 13 million visitors over the year, up from 12.2 million in 2023.

Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn says it is incredibly encouraging to see the growth in both visitor numbers and spending.

"This significant increase underscores the Gold Coast's enduring appeal and strengthens our position as a world-class destination for tourism, business, education, and major events,” Warn says.

Domestic overnight visitation was also up with 4.3 million people visiting the city in the year ending December 2024, compared to 4.1 million in year ending December 2023, with record visitation from Sunshine Coast and New South Wales.

“It’s fantastic to see the Gold Coast outperforming both Queensland (+2.8 per cent expenditure) and Australia (+0.9 per cent) in expenditure growth for domestic overnight,” Warn adds.

“These results demonstrate the success of our campaigns like Sneeky Mid-Weeky and Experience Exchange, which have helped attract more visitors to the region.”

New Zealand set its third consecutive record with 222,000 visitors, while international overall contributed a steady $1.2 billion to the economy. The Gold Coast’s other top international source markets were China, India and the United Kingdom.

“What an historic announcement to see our visitor expenditure break the $8 billion barrier,’’ says Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate.

“Visitor spend, as well as increased domestic visitor nights, reinforces Australia’s enduring love affair with the coast."

"The city’s plans to expand its nature-based tourism offerings are expected to further ignite the passion so many Aussies, and international visitors, have for Gold Coast. Like the hashtag says: #LOVEGC.’’

The survey results come as the Gold Coast continues the clean-up from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfed earlier this month which saw almost half the city’s tourism operators closed for more than seven days.

“The industry is doing it tough right now, but these record-breaking results are something to be proud of and I’m confident as a city we can recover and continue to build on the work we have done to date,” says Warn.

"The Gold Coast is bouncing back, but we still have a massive job ahead, to support our tourism operators, accommodation providers and restaurants and cafes."

A spokesperson for the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) clarifies that spending by international visitors on the Gold Coast was down 12.6 per cent on pre-pandemic levels at $1.2 billion, but on this metric the Whitsundays notched a record of $252 million - up 65.5 per cent on 2019.

Meanwhile, international visitor spending on the Southern Great Barrier Reef was up 26.9 per cent on 2019 at $98 million, and Tropical North Queensland's intake from overseas tourists was down 4.5 per cent at $981 million.

The QTIC spokesperson emphasises that a key takeaway from the report is Queensland's holiday market is down, as visitation is highly driven by the 'visiting friends and relatives' market at $4.8 billion and the business market, which notched record expenditure of $5.6 billion.

Queensland's holiday market was down 3.4 per cent over the year at $14.4 billion, compared to national numbers of $52.2 billion which were down 1.5 per cent.