Townsville’s domestic visitor numbers increasing but Far North still above on tourism leaderboard

The number of domestic overnight visitors to Townsville grew more than 10 per cent last year while the Far North saw a 5.38 per cent decline — but our region still smashes North Queensland on the tourism leaderboard.

The Townsville CBD. Picture: File

The number of domestic overnight visitors to Townsville grew more than 10 per cent last year while the Far North saw a 5.38 per cent decline — but our region still smashes North Queensland on the tourism leaderboard.

Townsville Enterprise, an economic development and marketing organisation, said North Queensland “was one of Australia’s leading regional tourism success stories” with an 11.7 per cent increase in domestic visitation in 2024.

Tourism Research Australia figures showed tropical North Queensland as the 13th top region in Australia for domestic overnight visitors in 2024 with Townsville lagging behind at 29th place.

Tourism and Events Queensland said Tropical Cyclone Jasper, which smashed the region in December 2023, was part of the reason the Far North’s visitation declined.

An aerial view of Fitzroy Island, 45 minutes off the coast of Cairns in Far North Queensland. Picture: Brendan Radke

Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen says he was pleased to see Townsville rebound well from their devastating floods earlier in 2025.

He said Townsville and Tropical North Queensland had returned to their pre-Covid-19 domestic visitor numbers.

However, Mr Olsen said the tropical North’s visitor economy remained nearly four times the size of Townsville’s, measuring $4.3bn compared to $1.1bn.

“As such, these (visitor number) changes are relatively small for Queensland as a whole,” Mr Olsen said.

Mr Olsen also said TNQ far exceeded Townsville in the international tourism market, bringing in $900m more than Townsville every year.

An aerial view of Casuarina Street in Holloways Beach, Cairns, showing damage from Cyclone Jasper. Picture: Cairns Regional Council

“In the international market … TNQ generates $981m per annum, compared to just $81m in Townsville,” he said.

“Year on year the international visitor spend in TNQ has grown by $92m in 12 months, just a bit more than the total value of international tourism to Townsville.”

Mr Olsen also said nearly half of Townsville’s international visitor “nights and spend” came from people visiting family and friends, compared to TNQ’s international visitor night count, 64 per cent of which came from holiday makers.

Townsville Enterprise chief executive Claudia Brumme-Smith said a number of factors had contributed to Townsville and North Queensland’s “momentum”, including expanded flight capacities, new investments such as luxury hotel Ardo, “and a growing calendar of headline events like P!nk, the Multisport Festival and The Killers”.

A handout photo released by the Queensland Fire Department on February 3, 2025 shows an aerial view of flood-affected areas around Townsville, North Queensland. Picture: AFP/Queensland Fire Department.

“These outcomes are not just numbers — they represent real jobs, real bookings and real business for our region. We are delivering a return on investment that demonstrates the power of sustained, strategic tourism promotion,” she said.

Ms Brumme-Smith said 2025 was also looking strong for Townsville, with the region’s peak-visitor season rebounding after the floods earlier in the year. Townsville’s acting mayor Ann-Maree Greaney said North Queensland’s status as a great place to visit and a great place to live was well documented.

Originally published as Townsville’s domestic visitor numbers increasing but Far North still above on tourism leaderboard