Brisbane sees an increased number of international visitors

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Brisbane has witnessed a record number of international visitors, with more than 1.3 million foreign visitors coming to the river city in the past year.

As per the latest international visitor survey from Tourism Australia, international visitor numbers were up by 6.7 per cent on the year before.

Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk said that the hosting of several summer sporting events by the city led to a sharp spike in New Zealand holidaymakers.

There was a 29.7 per cent increase in Kiwi holidaymakers in Brisbane in the past year, bringing the total New Zealand visitation to about 60,000.

Quirk said, “Drawcard events including the third Bledisloe Cup rugby Test, the Ashes cricket, the Rugby League World Cup finals and the Battle of Brisbane 2 boxing event gave our cousins from across the ditch more reasons to visit our city. Major events are important to Brisbane – they draw in visitors, fill our hotel rooms, boost our hospitality, service and retail sectors and profile our city on the world stage.”

 
International visitors also spent more during their Brisbane visits than before. Visitor expenditure grew 11.4 per cent to a record $2.2 billion.

Quirk said that the launch of direct flights from Beijing, Shenzhen, Vancouver, Tokyo and Christchurch over the past few years along with increased air capacity from Taipei has led to an increase in international tourism.

Australian Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said that the results were indeed great news for Queensland’s $25 billion tourism industry.

Jones said, “The latest International Visitor Survey data shows our industry is going from strength to strength. We’ve done a lot of work to attract more direct flights to Queensland and access to key Asian markets is still a priority – that’s why we’re investing $48 million in this space in this term of government. But the job’s not over. The international tourism market has never been so competitive and it’s important we keep rising to the challenge by improving our tourism offering.”

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