Brisbane 2032 Olympics: Tourism boost for southeast in lead-up

Tourists splashed a record $19.4bn last year in Brisbane and the Gold Coast as the industry booms in the lead-up to 2032.

New figures released as Queensland unveiled its new Olympics infrastructure plan reveal tourists splashed a record $19.4bn last year in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, with the southeast’s tourism industry booming in the lead-up to 2032.

The Bureau of Tourism Research figures show overall visitor spending in the year ending December 31 climbed to an unprecedented $11.3bn in Brisbane and $8.1bn on the Gold Coast as tourist numbers surged.

Brisbane set 10 new records in the annual stats, including total visitor nights increasing 14.7 per cent to 53.7m and business visitor nights soaring 30.5 per cent to 5.8m.

The river city welcomed record numbers of visitors from New Zealand and India, while the number of Asian visitor nights surged to 18.2m.

The number of Victorians visiting Brisbane jumped 28.1 per cent to 1.1m, with Melburnians alone spending 3.3 million visitor nights in the city – up 56.2 per cent.

Corporate travel also recorded strong gains, with the number of domestic business visitors rising 13.5 per cent to 2.1m, and business visitor nights climbing 30.5 per cent to a record 5.8m.

The Gold Coast attracted 13m visitors in 2024, according to the BTR figures, up from 12.2m the previous year.

Brisbane is streaking ahead in the tourism stakes.

The $8.1bn visitors spent on the Glitter Strip last year was a 37 per cent increase on 2023.

The Coast attracted a record number of NZ visitors (220,000) for the third year in a row, with NSW and the Sunshine Coast also delivering bumper visitor numbers.

Brisbane Economic Development Agency CEO Anthony Ryan said while this year had started with some bad weather challenges, Brisbane was well-positioned to maintain its momentum.

Mr Ryan said expanded aviation services had helped drive the visitor boom.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said Brisbane’s popularity continued to grow in the run-up to the Olympics.

“Whether it’s for business or leisure, the demand from international and interstate visitors

continues to soar, driving growth across the city and making Brisbane even better,” he said.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said it was a historic moment to see the city break the $8bn visitor spending record.

Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn said the Glitter Strip had outperformed Queensland and Australia in visitor spending growth.

He said the Coast’s success was due to initiatives including the Sneeky Mid-Weeky campaign, which encouraged visitors to have discounted midweek stays.

Originally published as Brisbane 2032 Olympics: Tourism boost for southeast in lead-up