Southern tourists defy poor turnout

MELBOURNE visitors have emerged as the unlikely heroes of Tropical North Queensland tourism after a dismal turnout over the last financial year.

According to the latest figures, the region’s total overnight expenditure for 2018-19 was $3.3 billion with 2.85 million visitors and 17.3 million visitor nights.

Domestic visitor numbers held steady at two million, while international visitors dipped slightly to 849,000.

The domestic market, which accounts for 68 per cent of visitor nights, was flat in the year ending June 2019, with visitor nights up 3.4 per cent to 10.4 million.

Strong growth was recorded from Melbourne with visitors up 13.8 per cent. There was strong growth from both visiting friends and relatives (up 21.8 per cent on the previous year) and business travel which grew by 8.9 per cent.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen said the global impacts of the uncertainty around Brexit were now being felt around the globe and especially in the Far North.

“This is our third quarter of declines from the long-haul markets of the UK and Germany along with many other mainland European countries,” he said.

“The domestic market is steady, and showing some growth in visitor nights but Australian visitors to Tropical North Queensland are watching their budgets with spend per trip dropping.

“This is quite typical when the exchange rate drops and domestic economic conditions soften. Destinations away from the capital cities feel it first.”