Tourists Pour $7.7 Billion Into the Gold Coast Economy

Gold Coast is celebrating another win for the economy with the latest National and International Visitor Survey results from Tourism Research Australia showing visitor spending is up for the year ending September 2024.

The report reveals visitors are spending more, generating $7.7 billion for the Gold Coast economy, an increase of 29% from 2019.

Visitor numbers were also up from last quarter with 12.4 million visiting the city compared to 12.3 million.

Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn said it’s great to see an increase in visitation and expenditure overall.

“These strong results highlight the broad appeal of the Gold Coast for day trippers, domestic overnight and international visitors,” Mr Warn said.

“Domestic overnight business travel significantly contributed to these numbers with a record-breakingcontribution of 595,000 visitors, a 10% increase compared to the same period last year.

“This shows the city is fast becoming a place for business and not just leisure travel, with great venues to meet, connect, and network.”

New Zealand set yet another new record with 221,000 visitors, and international overall contributed $1.2 billion to the economy.

The Gold Coast’s other top international source markets were China, South Korea and the United Kingdom.

“We are excited to see China had considerable growth in the last quarter, with an increase of 17% in visitation, which shows our team has had success connecting with industry, airlines and airport partners to bring more visitors to the Gold Coast,” Mr Warn said.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the results prove the Gold Coast continues to be a destination of choice for both international visitors and Australians. 

“The Gold Coast has so much to offer both leisure and businesses travellers and the latest visitor survey results reflect this,” Mayor Tom Tate said.

“I applaud Experience Gold Coast and the industry for continuing to invest in new events, attractions and experiences that ensure we are always front of mind.”

The city is also entering one of its busiest holiday periods of the year with occupancy rates already up from last year and building by the day.

Experience Gold Coast Head of Visitor Economy and Corporate Relations Rachel Hancock said summer is set to be a bumper season for tourism operators.

“It’s great to see accommodation bookings up more than 6% across the city during December and January, with the peak period between Christmas and New Years particularly strong,” Ms Hancock 
said.

“New products and experiences, and events like Magic Millions carnival continue to attract more people to the Gold Coast leading to a positive knock-on economic effect.”

Leading in to Christmas, HOTA, Home of the Arts will also have plenty for visitors to experience with a jam packed Christmas program of activities and New Year’s Eve celebrations.

ENDS

Highlights in numbers include:

• 12.4 million visiting the Gold Coast in the year ending September 2024, up from 12.3 million from last quarter.

• Generated $7.7 billion in revenue, up from $7.6 billion from last quarter.

• Regional NSW overnight visitors set a new record with 649,000 visits, up from 622,000 from last quarter.

• China visitation increased from 56,000 from 48,000, a 17% increase from last quarter.

• New Zealand visitors set a new record with 221,000 visitors, a 3% increase from last quarter.

• Domestic overnight business travellers set a new record with 595,000 visitors: a 10% increase from last quarter.

• 7.6 million day trips, this is a 25% increase compared to 2019.

• Domestic overnight expenditure reached $5.4 billion; this is a 46% increase compared to 2019.

• Tourism supports 20,419 jobs across Gold Coast, representing 7.5% of total employment.

CONTACT

Jo Wormald | 0412 996 011 | jo.wormald@experiencegoldcoast.com