Tourism bosses remain upbeat despite a drop in visitors coming to the Gold Coast in the last year with tourists still pumping $7.7 billion dollars into the local economy.
The Glitter Strip welcomed 4.13 million domestic visitors in the 12 months to September, down from 4.42 million in the previous 12 months.
The number of visitor nights also fell significantly while spending was down from $5.8 billion in the 12 months to September 2023, to $5.45 billion in the year to September 2024.
There has also been a drop in the number of day trippers to the Gold Coast, falling from 7.95 million to 7.58 million over the year.
Their spending was also down, from $1.29 billion to $1.02 billion.
International tourism continues its slow recovery from the pandemic with 649,000 visitors in the year to September, compared to pre-COVID levels of 1.05 million.
Despite the lagging international numbers, spending is almost on par with 2019 levels, with overseas visitors adding $1.19 billion dollars to the local economy.
New Zealand continues to be the city’s number one international market with a record 221,000 visitors, followed by China, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
“We are excited to see China had considerable growth in the last quarter, with an increase of 17% in visitation, which shows our team has had success connecting with industry, airlines and airport partners to bring more visitors to the Gold Coast,” Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn said.
Tourism bosses are confident of a bumper Christmas and New Year holiday season for the city.
“It’s great to see accommodation bookings up more than 6% across the city during December and January, with the peak period between Christmas and New Years particularly strong,” Experience Gold Coast Head of Visitor Economy and Corporate Relations Rachel Hancock said.
“New products and experiences, and events like Magic Millions carnival continue to attract more people to the Gold Coast leading to a positive knock-on economic effect.”
