Queensland ahead of the rest
Posted by editor (editor) on Feb 16 2009
2009 >>

The Bligh Government’s aggressive focus on tourism is paying off with new data revealing the state’s domestic tourism industry is performing ahead of the rest of the country, Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor announced today.

Mr Lawlor said Tourism Research Australia’s latest National Visitor Survey revealed that 16 million Australians overnighted in Queensland in the year ending September 2009.

While numbers were down 4%, Queensland fared better than the national average, which dropped 7%, and better than other states including NSW (which dropped 9%) and Victoria (which dropped 7%).

Queensland saw increased share in the domestic visitor market, which grew by 1% to 24%.

“There is no denying the past 12 months have been tough on our tourism industry and in response Tourism Queensland has initiated a series of hard-hitting tactical campaigns offering highly competitive travel deals throughout the state,” Mr Lawlor said.

“These campaigns have generated millions of dollars and thousands of room nights and tour bookings for Queensland’s tourism operators when they have needed it most.”

Mr Lawlor said Queenslanders holidaying closer to home had been a strong driver for the state’s tourism industry during the past 12 months.

“While the overall number of Australians taking holidays has declined, many of those who are taking holidays are staying closer to home,” Mr Lawlor said.

“This change in travel patterns has benefited Queensland, with intrastate holidaymakers increasing 1% to five million statewide.

“In addition, day trip expenditure remained stable at $3 billion - a good indication that Queenslanders are continuing to enjoy day visits to their local regions.

“Tourism Queensland has also undertaken a range of marketing campaigns specifically targeting local markets with many tourism operators offering special deals for ‘locals’.”

Mr Lawlor said Tourism Queensland’s Unreal Deals campaign, which ran earlier this year, was its most successful domestic retail campaign ever, generating more than $6.5 million in sales for Queensland.

“Other specific campaigns for the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Tropical North Queensland and the Whitsundays have also done well, putting dollars into tourism operators’ pockets that they might not otherwise have received,” he said.

“Holidaymakers make up the largest proportion of visitors to Queensland and they are looking for deals so our aim has been to provide them with fantastic, value for money options at some of the state’s top destinations.”

Mr Lawlor said as a result of the trend for Australians to take shorter breaks of 3-4 nights, the number of nights Australians spent in Queensland dropped 4% to just under 70 million for the year ended September 2009.

”Queensland did however perform better than most states and the national average which saw a 7% drop in nights,” he said.

Mr Lawlor said overall Queensland’s major tourist destinations were weathering the tough climate.

“Although some of the domestic figures aren’t that great in some regions, international travel also plays a role in these regions’ overall results.”

Brisbane

Domestic visitors to Brisbane increased 5% to 4.7 million for the year ended September 2009, while nights were also up 4% to 14.6 million.

“This is good news for Brisbane, which benefited from increases the intrastate and interstate markets, largely driven by people visiting friends or relatives and Queenslanders travelling for business,” Mr Lawlor said.

Gold Coast

The Gold Coast recorded a 3% drop in domestic visitors to 3.2 million in the year ended September 2009. Nights were down 6% to 13.7 million.

“The Gold Coast was affected by an 8% drop in visitors from NSW (to 973,000), which is one of the region’s key domestic markets,” Mr Lawlor said.

“On a more positive note however, visitors from Victoria rose by 2% to 523,000 while Queenslanders visiting friends or relatives on the Coast increased by just over 3% to 397,000.”

Internationally, Tourism Research Australia’s International Visitor Survey for the year ended September 2009, revealed a decline in visitors however Gold Coast international visitor expenditure increased by 10% to $1 billion.

Sunshine Coast

The number of Queenslanders holidaying on the Sunshine Coast increased by 3% to 1.2 million while the number of nights they stayed increased by 10% to 4.6 million,” Mr Lawlor said.

“This was largely driven by the number of Brisbane residents holidaying in the Sunshine Coast.”

Domestic overnight visitors to the Sunshine Coast dropped 10% to 2.6 million in the year ended September 2009, while nights dropped 6% to 10.8 million.

The Sunshine Coast figures were heavily affected by declines in visitors from Sydney and Melbourne.

In comparison, Tourism Research Australia’s International Visitor Survey for the year ended September 2009, recently revealed the Sunshine Coast had been a popular international destination with international visitors up 4% and visitor nights up 16%.

International visitors to the Sunshine Coast spent $230 million, 34% up on the previous year.

Fraser Coast

The number of Australians who spent time on the Fraser Cost increased by 14% to 858,000 during the year ended September 2009, while the number of nights they spent in the region increased by 14% to 3.4 million.

“This was largely driven by a strong intrastate market, with 745,000 Queenslanders visiting the region during the year to September, 25% more than the year before,” Mr Lawlor said.

“The Fraser Coast continues to be a popular destination for both holidaymakers and those visiting friends or relatives and this year experienced a particularly strong whale-watching season.”

Whitsundays

The Whitsundays experienced a 16% drop in domestic visitors to 416,000 and a 15% drop in visitor nights to 1.9 million in the year to September 2009.

“The Whitsundays continued to feel the effects of the global downturn and a cut in flights into the region,” Mr Lawlor said.

“An overall decrease in travel by Sydneysiders, which is one of the Whitsundays’ key domestic markets, also affected results.

“More positively, the visiting friends or relatives market in the Whitsundays has seen an increase over the year.”
Internationally, Tourism Research Australia’s International Visitor Survey for the year ended September 2009, recently revealed a positive result with international visitor spending increasing by 18% to $149 million.

Visitor numbers and nights remained stable at 223,000 and 1.3 million respectively.

Townsville

Townsville experienced a good growth in the holiday market with 316,000 Australians holidaying in the region (up 8%), and in the business market, which also increased 8% to 232,000.

Domestic visitors to Townsville decreased 9% to 807,000 in the year to September 2009. The number of nights they stayed increased 17% to 3.4 million.

“Townsville was popular with both intrastate and interstate holidaymakers, with the number of Queenslanders holidaying in the region increasing.

“Both interstate and intrastate business visitors also increased which is a good sign for a return in business confidence.”

Mr Lawlor said the number of Australians visiting friends and relatives in Townsville had however decreased by 34% to 198,000.

Internationally, Tourism Research Australia’s International Visitor Survey for the year ended September 2009, recently revealed international visitors stayed longer - spending 1.3 million nights in the region, 6% more than during the previous year.

Tropical North Queensland

The number of Australians visiting Tropical North Queensland in the year to September 2009 increased by 6% to 1.6 million, while the number of nights they stayed remained steady at 7.8 million.

“Tropical North Queensland’s tourism industry has performed strongly in the domestic market, largely driven by the number of Queenslanders visiting the region,” Mr Lawlor said.

“Intrastate visitors increased 9% to 1.1 million while the important holidaymaker market increased 2% to 458,000.

“The number of Queenslanders visiting friends or relatives in the region also increased 7% to 324,000.”

Mr Lawlor said the interstate holiday market had also performed strongly, increasing 8% to 387,000, largely driven by visitors from Victoria.

“The number of competitive flight and holiday deals, along with a range of Tourism Queensland-led marketing initiatives, has helped Tropical North Queensland’s domestic holiday market stay buoyant,” he said.

“This is particularly good news as Tropical North Queensland’s tourism industry has been one of those hardest hit by the economic downturn.”

Mr Lawlor said Jetstar’s recent announcement of new domestic flights into Cairns from next year would also help the region recover.

“There is no doubt that the past 12 months have been tough for our tourism industry across the state,” Mr Lawlor said.

“For this reason Tourism Queensland has revised its domestic marketing focus to centre on hard-hitting campaigns which encourage Australians to book a holiday now.

“Given that domestic visitors to Queensland have experienced a more marginal decline than the national average and market share has increased this is a good indication that these tactics have had an impact.

“The State Government and Tourism Queensland are committed to protecting the jobs of the more than 222,000 Queenslanders who owe their livelihood to the tourism industry.”

Last changed: Jan 07 2010 at 2:07 PM