Queenslanders keep coming to the Whitsundays!

the Whitsundays

The latest statistics for the Whitsundays show that domestic visitors have continued to come to the Whitsundays in their thousands during 2017.

In the 12 months to December 31, 2017, domestic visitation was up by 19.8 per cent year-on-year, with a total of 545,000 people visiting the Whitsundays.

Of these 545,000 people, 296,000 were on holiday, an increase of 1.3 per cent on 2016. The average length of stay was also up, by 0.2 of a night, and currently stands at 4.6 nights.

It should be noted that a high proportion of the increase came from business visitors – a segment that increased by 33 per cent year-on-year – with the majority coming to region for reasons other than to experience a tourism product.

Tourism Whitsundays CEO Craig Turner said that, given the 12-month figures included the period post-Tropical Cyclone Debbie, they were encouraging,

“Both holiday visitation and length of stay were up, which is great, and the increased length of stay has meant that the total number of holiday nights spent in the Whitsundays by domestic visitors has increased by five per cent, to 1.5 million nights,” Mr Turner said.

“Interestingly, the number of visitors to the Whitsundays from within Queensland itself has risen by 32.2 per cent year-on-year, to 169,000 visitors in 2017, and this is a sure sign that Queenslanders have been supporting the Whitsundays in its recovery.

“While numbers are encouraging, we all need to understand that the hard work is still ahead of us, and ensure we continue to deliver a world class destination.”