06 Sep 2017
The International Visitor Survey* (IVS) figures released today show that 1.056 million people visited the Gold Coast in the 12 months to June 2017, up 7.2% , producing record growth for the region.
The Gold Coast continues to be a primary international holiday destination for Queensland, directly generating $1.2 billion in visitor expenditure for the City, largely driven by 841,000 holiday makers embracing a wider tourism offering.
“These are great figures ahead of our peak summer holiday period,” says Paul Donovan, Gold Coast Tourism chairman. “Industry sentiment and confidence in the Gold Coast continues to grow ahead of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, and these figures indicate the international visitor trend largely driven by China - shows no signs of slowing down.”
China once again accounted for the largest number of international visitors 303,000, up 7.3%, followed by New Zealand (206,000) and the United Kingdom (70,000). Japanese visitors (68,000) also flocked to City, with 19.5% increase in numbers – equating to 11,000 extra visitors year-on-year.
Mr Donovan encourages the tourism sector to take advantage of free workshops such as the City of Gold Coast lead 'Be My Guest' program to elevate industry customer service to benchmark levels. “This is an opportune time to enhance our overarching visitor experience as an ongoing legacy for Destination Gold Coast.”
The City's burgeoning education sector – championed by Study Gold Coast – continued to strengthen its position as an economic driver for the region, attracting an 11.1% increase in international education visitation.
Overall, Gold Coast visitation figures matched both state and national growth rates, with a record-breaking 7.8 million international visitors Australia-wide in the 12 months to June 2017.
Top 5 source markets to Gold Coast (for 12 months to June 2017)
|
Country |
No. of visitors |
Growth (%) |
|
China |
303,000 |
+7.3 |
|
New Zealand |
206,000 |
+5.4 |
|
United Kingdom |
70,000 |
+2.5 |
|
Japan |
68,000 |
+19.5 |
|
USA |
41,000 |
+22.3 |
Total international visitors (for 12 months to June 2017)
|
Destination |
No. of visitors |
Growth (%) |
|
Gold Coast |
1.056 million |
+7.2 |
|
Queensland |
2.6 million |
+5.6 |
|
Australia |
7.8 million |
+8.7 |
*International visitor data is provided by International Visitor Surveys conducted by Tourism Research Australia
ENDS
CONTACT: Dean Gould, Executive Director, Corporate Affairs and Strategy
07 5584 6265 / 0411 657 381 / dean.gould@gctourism.com
