Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor said Tourism Research Australia’s National Visitor Survey for the year ended March 2010 revealed 665,000 Melburnians holidayed in Queensland, a 25 percent increase on the previous year.
“The Gold Coast was Melburnians’ favourite Queensland destination, with 281,000 holidaying on the Coast - 20 percent up on the previous year,” Mr Lawlor said.
“This was followed by Tropical North Queensland, with 157,000 Melburnians travelling to the region for a holiday (up 28 percent) and the Sunshine Coast, with 142,000 (up 41 percent).”
Mr Lawlor said on average, Melburnians spent more than a week holidaying in Queensland with holiday nights increasing 26 percent to 5.3 million in the year ended March 2010.
Almost 240,000 Melburnians also visited friends or relatives in Queensland, three percent more than during the previous period.
Mr Lawlor said Queensland had long been a favourite destination for Victorians in general, and had grown increasingly popular over the past year with 1.4 million Victorians visiting Queensland in the year ended March (up 4%).
Of these, 848,000 came for a holiday, an increase of 14% on the previous year.
“In fact the growth in Queensland’s popularity as a holiday destination for Victorians has been supported by airlines such as Jetstar, Tiger and Virgin Blue, which have begun phasing in additional capacity to a range of Queensland destinations,” Mr Lawlor said.
“Queensland’s relaxed lifestyle, fantastic outdoor climate and our friendly locals are huge drawcards for Southerners looking to reconnect with friends and family and have a fun, relaxing holiday.”
Mr Lawlor said overallthose who visited stayed longer, with nights up two percent to 69.9 million. Expenditure remained steady at $11.7 billion.
“The fact that those who are holidaying in Queensland are staying longer is a strong testament to the impact of the aggressive tactical marketing campaigns Tourism Queensland has run over the past 12 months,” Mr Lawlor said.
“Many of these offered fantastic deals which often included free nights – a tactic that has paid off by encouraging holidaymakers to stay longer in Queensland.”
