Tourism spend grows
NEW data released today has highlighted strong growth in the Toowoomba tourism industry.
Roughly 58,000 international tourists spent almost $75 million in the Southern Queensland Country region in the year ended June 2019 — that’s more than 16 per cent growth in visitation according to the National/ International Visitor Survey.
The modelling released by Tourism Research Australia also shows 2,204,000 domestic tourists spent more than $768 million in the year ended June 2019 — a 6.2 per cent growth in visitation.
Tourism industry development minister Kate Jones said Toowoomba locals should be proud of the data released today.
“Tourism is crucial to Toowoomba. We know many locals rely on this industry to put food on the table,” she said.
“That’s why we’re working with tourism operators more closely than ever before to grow this industry and create local jobs.
“Today’s results are a testament to the fact that our strategy is working.
“Growth in the tourism industry will have great flow-on effects for other Toowoomba businesses as well. The numbers we’re hearing today will be music to locals’ ears.”
Ms Jones said high-spending international visitors who travel to Queensland for education purposes bolstered the state’s record growth, as did record visitation and spend from domestic business travellers and people visiting friends and relatives from interstate.
“International education visitors stayed an average of 105 nights in Queensland, spending about $14,000 per trip,” she said.
“This is an important achievement by the state as we target a diversified portfolio to ensure sustainability for one of Queensland’s most valuable industries.
“We’re also starting to see positive changes from Japan — a traditionally valuable international market — which in the year to June 2019 moved up two positions to become Queensland’s third most valuable international tourism market. This is great news for Queensland’s tourism industry.”