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Visitors from overseas continue to pour money into the pockets of the Gold Coast according to the latest International Visitor Survey figures.
International visitor expenditure on the Gold Coast hit $1.4 billion for the year ending March 2019, with tourists spending large on hotels, food, and theme parks.
The market share of international visitors grew 3.8 per cent, with those tourists spending an average of $1,323 per trip.
CEO of Destination Gold Coast Annaliese Battista says these figures are in line with the department's approach to tourism on the Gold Coast.
"International expenditure continues to outperform visitor growth, which is consistent with our strategic focus to attract high-yield tourists who tend to spend more," says Battista.
"Gold Coast's international visitor market accounts for 25 per cent of our total overnight expenditure, so targeting higher value travellers will provide a stronger return for our tourism dollar."
Whilst visitor arrivals were down 2.1 per cent to 1 million, the average length of stay was steady at 9.5 nights.
Chinese visitation decreased by 17.1 per cent to 251,000 though remains the Gold Coast's largest international source market.
Battista says the decline in Chinese visitors is consistent with global trends over the last 12 months.
"Tour groups continue to outpace free and independent high-value Chinese travellers who seek more experiential interactions with our slice of paradise," says Battista.
"Closer to home, the lure of Australia's playground enticed 210,000 Kiwis who flocked to our shores to record a 9 per cent spike in visitation."
Japanese visitors accounted for 70,000 (up 12.2 per cent), followed by United Kingdom with 63,000 visitors, and USA saw a 5.5 per cent dip to 38,000 visitors.
Nationally, Australia saw 8.5 million total international visitors hit our shores in the year ending March 2019. This is an increase of 2.7 per cent.
These 8.5 million international visitors spent a total of $30.6 billion, up 5.8 per cent.
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Business News Australia
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