Queensland tops list of world’s most-loved tourist destinations

Queensland’s tourism industry has been given an extraordinary boost as the state prepares for the return of international travel with four of the nine top tourist destinations on the planet right here in the Sunshine State. SEE THE LIST

Queensland has been crowned the world’s most-loved tourist destination as the Sunshine State prepares for the long-awaited return of international visitors.

With restrictions now relaxed for fully-vaccinated international arrivals to Queensland, a comprehensive study taken from almost two billion sources has found the state occupies four of the top nine tourist destinations on the planet.

The Sunshine Coast and Whitsundays took out the top two spots on the annual Tourism Sentiment Index of the world’s most-loved destinations, beating out such international icons as Bora Bora, Nice in France and Mexico’s Caribbean coast.

The Sunshine Coast has been rated the world’s most-loved tourist destination in a new study called the Tourism Sentiment Index. Picture: Tourism and Events Queensland

The accolades come as Queensland tourism operators await the return of international visitors after another major step towards free travel this week with the removal of quarantine restrictions for vaccinated Australian citizens and residents of a select group of countries including New Zealand, Singapore, Japan and Korea as well as approved working visa applicants.

The Tourism Sentiment Index was compiled using data from almost two billion online posts about travel experiences referencing some 20,000 destinations.

An artificial intelligence algorithm rated the sentiment of reviews and comments to create a top 100 filled with Queensland destinations.

Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Matt Stoeckel said the No. 1 ranking was “a huge endorsement of the region as a premium tourist destination”.

“With international borders set to open, the fact that the Sunshine Coast resonates so strongly overseas highlights the potential we have to regrow our visitor numbers,” he said.

“We have been using the last year to emphasise the Sunshine Coast’s nature-based experiences, along with our food, health and wellness assets, and this survey shows that our messages have really struck a chord with potential travellers.”

Queensland destinations ranked higher on the Tourism Sentiment Index than holiday havens such as Bora Bora.

With the Whitsundays second, Noosa fifth and Cairns ninth, Queensland dominated the top 10, while other Queensland destinations including Port Douglas (15th), the Scenic Rim (50) and Gold Coast (62) also made the cut.

Data from Expedia also shows Queensland’s popularity around the world, with residents of Los Angeles, London and Hong Kong the top three regions wanting to visit the Sunshine State.

The Sunshine Coast, Whitsundays and Noosa rated about France’s iconic Nice. Picture: Ben Lawson

Queenslanders are also keen to start exploring the world, with search activity for destinations overseas jumping 70 per cent on the Flight Centre website in the days since the announcement of relaxed international travel restrictions.

London, LA and Auckland are the three most popular destinations.

Tourism leaders have welcomed the relaxed travel restrictions, but warn that the recovery will take months, and possibly years, to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Get Wet surf school instructor Sam Marke from the Gold Coast is excited about the return of international travellers. Picture: Nigel Hallett

So far, airlines have responded cautiously to Queensland’s new-found freedoms, with only a handful of international flights set to arrive in Brisbane across the weekend.

About 1000 international passengers are expected to land in Brisbane on Saturday on inbound flights from (Port Moresby, Nadi, Singapore and Auckland.

International airports in Cairns and the Gold Coast are still weeks away from the return of international flights, with Scoot to touch down with its first Singapore-Gold Coast flight on February 15.

The Gold Coast relies heavily on international visitors and Get Wet surf school boss Kerri Jekyll said it was good to finally “see some light at the end of the tunnel”.

“Before Covid, 80 per cent of our business was internationals, so we’ve effectively been 80 per cent down for nearly two years,” she said.

“Most of the Gold Coast depends on internationals, so the return of international students and working visa holders will be great because that is a very important market.”

Originally published as Queensland tops list of world’s most-loved tourist destinations