International Tourists Continue to Spend Up Big on the Gold Coast

International visitor expenditure on the Gold Coast topped $1.4 billion for the year ending March 2019, as tourists continue to spend more on accommodation, dining, shopping, theme parks and attractions.

Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista said international visitor market share grew 3.8 per cent according to the International Visitor Survey* (IVS) figures released today (Wednesday).

“Overseas visitors spent an average $1,323 per trip – an increase of 6 per cent year-on-year – to inject $1.4 billion into our tourism economy,” said Ms Battista.

“International expenditure continues to outperform visitor growth, which is consistent with our strategic focus to attract high-yield tourists who tend to spend more.

“Gold Coast’s international visitor market accounts for 25 per cent of our total overnight expenditure, so targeting higher value travellers will provide a stronger return for our tourism dollar.”

Whilst visitor arrivals were down 2.1 per cent to 1 million, the average length of stay was steady at 9.5 nights.

Chinese visitation decreased by 17.1 per cent to 251,000 though remains the Gold Coast’s largest international source market.

Ms Battista said the decline in Chinese visitors is consistent with global trends over the last 12 months.

“However, expenditure from our Chinese visitors remains high,” she said.

“Tour groups continue to outpace free and independent high-value Chinese travellers who seek more experiential interactions with our slice of paradise.

“Closer to home, the lure of Australia’s playground enticed 210,000 Kiwis who flocked to our shores to record a 9 per cent spike in visitation.”

Japanese visitors accounted for 70,000 (up 12.2 per cent), followed by United Kingdom with 63,000 visitors, and USA saw a 5.5 per cent dip to 38,000 visitors.

This week, Qantas announced non-stop flights from Brisbane to Chicago and San Francisco from April next year. Touted as a boon for Queensland tourism, the Gold Coast is set to benefit from a growing in inbound market.

Total international visitors (for 12 months to March 2019)

	Total Visitors	Total Spend
Australia	8.5m (+2.7%)	$30.6B (+5.8%)
Queensland	2.7m (-0.3%)	$6B (+8.6%)
Gold Coast	1m (-2.1%)	$1.4B (+3.8%)

Top 5 Source Markets (for 12 months to March 2019)

China	251,000 (-17.1%)
New Zealand	210,000 (+9%)
Japan	70,000 (+12.2%)
United Kingdom	63,000 (-2.5%)
USA	38,000 (-5.5%)

Gold Coast overview (for 12 months to March 2019)

Total Visitation	Total Spend	Total Nights	ALOS
1m (-2.1%)	$1.4B (+3.8%)	9.7m (-0.6%)	9.5 nights (+0.1n)

* International visitor data is provided by International Visitor Surveys conducted by Tourism Research Australia for each quarter.