The Gold Coast has welcomed a whopping 14.4 million visitors in the calendar year ending December 2025, driving the value of the city’s visitor economy to $8.9 billion, according to new data from Tourism Research Australia1.
The positive results have cemented the Gold Coast as the number one domestic holiday market in Queensland, and third largest in the country. In 2025, the Gold Coast welcomed 13.7 million domestic visitors who spent more than $7 billion.
International expenditure reached record highs in 2025, with 682,000 overseas travellers spending a total of $1.5 billion on the Gold Coast - 26% more than the year prior. International visitors are also staying longer, amassing a record 10.3 million visitor nights through 2025.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the results demonstrated the city’s continued growth as a global destination of choice.
“Few cities can boast an almost $9 billion visitor economy, and these numbers show that our world class experiences, events and natural beauty continue to draw visitors to the Gold Coast,” Mayor Tom Tate said.
“As a city we’ve focused on securing one-off global events that put the Gold Coast on the map, we’ve invested in new tourism offerings and strengthened aviation partnerships, and it’s paying off.”
Many of the Gold Coast’s key international markets experienced significant growth in 2025. Visitation from the United Kingdom surged 43% to 75,000, while total visitor nights from the rest of Europe more than doubled (up 108%) in the year ending December 2025.
The Chinese market continued to rebound strongly with 72,000 visitors in 2025, a growth of 37% year on year. New Zealand remains the Gold Coast’s key international market with 217,000 Kiwis visiting our city last year.
“These exceptional domestic and international results show us that our strategy is working - more people are choosing the Gold Coast, they’re staying longer than ever before, and they’re spending record amounts on our tourism experiences,” Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn said.
“It’s a testament to our city's ability to consistently reinvent itself and a willingness to invest in experiences that set us apart from the rest of the country. Last year we welcomed Australia's first Mondrian hotel, our culinary scene continued its impressive rise, and new theme park attractions gave visitors new reasons to fall in love with the Gold Coast.
“We look forward to building on this success with some very exciting international events heading to the Gold Coast in 2026.
“We’ve just celebrated the AFC Asian Women’s Cup and the Women’s PGA Championship is currently underway. Later this year will bring the World Surf League Championship Tour, Gold Coast Pacific Airshow, and we’re proud to be a host city for the Rugby World Cup.”
The new tourism data shows Queensland is outperforming the national average for domestic and international visitation and expenditure, while 1 in 4 people holidaying in Queensland are choosing the Gold Coast.
INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- • 682,000 international visitors, up 7.5% on 2024
- • Record $1.5 billion international visitor expenditure, up 26% on 2024
- • Record 10.3 million international visitor nights, up 28% on 2024
- • 75,000 UK visitors, up 43% on 2024 and record 1.1 million UK visitor nights (up 83%)
- • 72,000 Chinese visitors, up 37% on 2024
- • 217,000 NZ visitors
- • Record $381 million NZ visitor expenditure, up 3.9% on 2024
- • Average length of stay climbed to 15 nights, up two nights on 2024
DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS
- • 13.7 million domestic visitors
- • $7.5 billion domestic visitor expenditure
- • Largest holiday market in QLD, third-largest holiday market in Australia
- • 2.9 million domestic overnight visitors from QLD
- • 2.1 million domestic overnight visitors from interstate
- • 371,000 domestic business visitors
CONTACT
Kesha West | 0432 862 727 | kesha.west@experiencegoldcoast.com
Hannah Matchett | 0466 631 416 | hannah.matchett@experiencegoldcoast.com
1 Tourism Research Australia adopted a new domestic tourism data methodology in January 2025. As a result, 2026 domestic visitation and expenditure figures are not directly comparable with previous years.
THE LATEST
News
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Experience Gold Coast acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are situated, the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh Language Region.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their continuing connections to the lands, waters and their extended communities throughout Southeast Queensland.