Tuesday, 27 September, 2022
It may have been cold and Covid-affected but June was a gold mine for Queensland domestic tourism with spending up almost 60 per cent above pre-Covid levels, equating to an extra $808 million for the sector.
Queensland had a booming winter for tourism. The number of visitors was not as good and the spending may have been impacted by inflation, but according to the national visitor survey monthly snapshot tourism spending across Australia in June was up 22 percent to $7.5 billion. Tourism Research Australia said July and August were heavily affected by the Omicron outbreak and the flu season but early data showed domestic overnight trip rates for July and the first three weeks of August were up significantly.
Overnight trips in June were down 14 percent on the 2019 level and the nights spend on a trip were down 8 percent. It found there had been a strong increase in spending across all states and territories, but Queensland was easily the best despite it being winter. Tasmania was also up strongly (54 percent or $100 million) and the ACT jumped 22 percent (or $38 million). Tourism Research Australia found that visitor numbers had yet to get back to pre-Covid levels but those who did travel spent more. The average spend was up $263 or 42 percent to $888 when compared with June 2019.
Queensland’s domestic overnight visitor numbers were down 16 percent on last year and the spending was on par. Queensland also had strong growth in interstate spending with a $341 million increase. Regional Australia continued to do well. In June there had been a 23 percent increase in overnight trips and a 29 percent increase in spending compared to last year. It was also up on pre-Covid levels.
Credit John McCarthy, Business Magazine
Read the full article here.
Posted in Press Clippings
