Qld tourism rebounds with $2.2b visitor spending in June

Queensland’s tourism industry is roaring back to life, with visitors splashing hundreds of millions of dollars more than they were before Covid-19.

Bumper new figures reveal Queensland’s tourism industry is roaring back to life, with visitors splashing hundreds of millions of dollars more than they were before Covid-19.

Tourism Research Australia data to be released on ­Friday shows overnight visitor spending in the Sunshine State soared to $2.2bn in June, up 59 per cent on pre-pandemic figures.

Brisbane’s hotel occupancies were higher than those of Sydney and Melbourne, while visitor spending in regional Queensland surged by almost 80 per cent.

Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the figures were all the more impressive because they took in visitor activity before the winter school holidays.

He said visitors spent almost $500m on accommodation, food and drinks in June.

“Across the state, 7.8 million visitor nights delivered $2.2bn in overnight visitor spending, creating more good, secure jobs and a strong post-Covid visitor economy for hospitality and tourism operators,” he said.

“Accommodation occupancy rates in Brisbane for June averaged 72.5 per cent, compared to 67.7 per cent and 60.3 per cent in Sydney and Melbourne, respectively.

“More than 1.3 million visitors picked regional Queensland for a winter getaway, (visiting attractions), including theme parks, Outback dinosaur trails, whale watching, World Heritage-listed rainforests and the Great ­Barrier Reef.”

Mr Hinchliffe said the figures were an excellent omen for the spring school holidays, which start next week in Queensland. Hotel occupancy rates of up to 80.4 per cent have been forecast for the state’s tourism hot spots, based on forward bookings.

“Many Queensland destinations – from Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef to the Gold and Sunshine coasts – are seeing solid September school holiday bookings,” he said.

A new multimillion-dollar tourism campaign Seize the Days, encourages southerners to visit the Sunshine State before the end of the year.

It aims to lure an extra 6.7 million visitors to Queensland and pump an estimated $4.4bn into tourism coffers.

Meanwhile, Gold Coast Airport’s new $260m terminal has begun welcoming its first travellers.

Originally published as Qld tourism rebounds with $2.2b visitor spending in June