Brisbane on top as American, Asian tourists flock to city
Brisbane has been named Queensland’s top destination, attracting four in every 10 visitors to the state, and breaking international records.
The latest data from Tourism Research Australia shows Brisbane delivered 38 per cent of the state’s visitation (2.3 million) between January and March this year, with an added 31 per cent of visitor expenditure ($2 billion) and 30 per cent of visitor nights (6.9 million).
During the same period, visitation from international holidaymakers increased by nearly 20 per cent year-on-year, with 594,000 visitors.
Brisbane is continuing to grow as a popular destination for international tourists. Credit: Brisbane EDA
Tourism Research Australia said Brisbane set records for visitation from the US, Indonesia and India, with visitation from China growing 28.4 per cent year-on-year as a result of added direct flights.
The previous period saw record visitation from Canada, India and Thailand.
The Crisafulli government’s 20-year tourism strategy, announced this month, included a new Connecting Queensland Fund to unlock new air routes and drive international growth.
The fund was pitched to initially focus on delivering direct flights from India and South-East Asia, and adding routes to hubs such as Kuala Lumpur and the Middle East.
India is now the world’s most populous nation, and is the largest economic market within range that does not have any direct routes to and from Brisbane Airport.
Last week, the Queensland government announced the first routes delivered through the fund, with a new Brisbane-to-Doha flight from Virgin Australia, and two new direct Jetstar flights from New Zealand to the Gold Coast.
Brisbane Airport chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaff said the new daily flights from Virgin marked “the most significant increase in capacity between Queensland and Europe in the past two years”.
On Tuesday, Air New Zealand announced it would add 1.7 million seats between Australia and New Zealand over summer, including 18,400 new seats between Brisbane and Auckland.
New Zealand is Brisbane’s top international market, accounting for 248,000 visitors during the surveyed period.
It is followed by the United Kingdom (136,000); the US (118,000); China (112,000); and South Korea (61,000).
Brisbane Economic Development Agency chief executive Anthony Ryan said Brisbane’s growth in international tourism was “the result of smart strategy and strong collaboration”.
“We’re working side by side with our partners to secure blockbuster events, expand aviation access, and tell Brisbane’s story to the world through powerful destination marketing,” he said.
Brisbane’s growth has been attributed to the city’s inclusion as a must-visit destination by global publications including Time and Frommer’s, and the development of precincts such as Howard Smith Wharves, South Bank and James Street.
The Queen’s Wharf precinct, which, ahead of its staged opening in August last year, was tipped to draw 1.4 million visitors a year and cement Brisbane on international radars in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympics, has been missing from recent tourism announcements.
Ryan said despite uncertainty around the precinct, due to Star Entertainment’s financial difficulties, Queen’s Wharf remained “an important asset” for Brisbane.
“Queen’s Wharf understands its place as a driver of connectivity to South Bank … [and] from an iconic physical asset that it brings to the city, we find it incredible.”
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