Visitor Spending in Queensland Up by $1 Billion in 2013

Queensland has experienced the most hectic travel season in ten years, with visitors in 2013 spending $1 billion more than they did in 2012. Holiday resort, reef and theme-park operators testify to the leap in demand, stating that the weeks leading up to the New Year saw a record number of travellers.

Tourism officials said that the state would probably have received more than 12 million visitors during the school holiday period. Excellent weather conditions, a lower Australian dollar and a concerted marketing campaign are some of the reasons for the expected record number of visitors.

The fact that more Australians have holidayed at home is also contributing to the ‘bumper season’, as CEO of Tourism Events Queensland Leanne Coddington described the situation. Coddington added that popular locations such as the Whitsundays, Palm Cove, Port Douglas and the Sunshine Coast region saw as much as 20% more visitors from the previous year, reported Courier Mail.

Local and international tourists bring around $10 billion annually to the state, and the quarter of a million or so backpackers who visit Queensland each year inject $1.4 billion into the economy. Backpackers tend to stay longer in Queensland than any other state, spending an impressive $6,000 on average.