Published on : Wednesday, January 9, 2019
In the meantime, overseas visitor numbers statewide rose 5 percent to 2.8 million.
Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham stated the growth in international visitors was good news for Queensland.
“It’s wonderful to see record numbers of international travellers keen to experience the magic of Queensland with its many iconic tourist destinations from the Sunshine Coast all the way up to the Daintree and even beyond,” he said.
“These latest results also show growth in the number of tourists travelling to more regional destinations.
“It is encouraging to see that travellers are thinking outside the box and moving beyond the usual drawcards to explore more emerging tourist hotspots such as Mackay or places in South Queensland country like Toowoomba or Dalby.”
All over the country, tourists spent $113.4 billion, including a rising interest in regional areas nationwide.
Mackay witnessed a 20 percent visitor increase in the year to September, as regional southern Queensland recording a 16 percent jump in visitor numbers as well.
Visitor numbers to the Gold Coast were less spectacular, just a 1.4 percent rise for the tourism hotspot.