Updated on June 27, 2022 by Axel Hernborg

Axel Hernborg

Brisbane is a modern, sub-tropical capital city with the river at its heart. Boasting an enviable lifestyle with year-round sunshine, the Brisbane region expands to include Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Logan, Scenic Rim, and Somerset council areas. The city and surrounds offer a range of appealing visitor experiences and are home to numerous coastal villages, an expansive bay of islands featuring Mulgumpin (Moreton Island), and Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), and a hinterland of historic countryside towns, lush national parks, and fertile farmland.

Brisbane is Australia’s third-largest city and is home to nearly two and a half million culturally diverse people. Its world-class sporting venues, conference facilities, cruise ship terminal, parklands, cafes, laneways, and extensive river walks make Brisbane a vibrant and welcoming, metropolitan city.

Brisbane’s reputation as an international events capital has been recognized with Brisbane being elected as Host City for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The city has an extensive music, sporting, and cultural events calendar that makes the most of the year-round temperate climate.

The city has set its vision to be a globally recognized destination known for connecting visitors and the community with its enviable lifestyle, accessible nature, remarkable experiences, authentic culture and events, and renowned for being sustainable, creative, and respectful.

Here are the city’s top tourism statistics and trends.

PRE & POST-PANDEMIC TRENDS

  • Brisbane has its own unique and compelling story to tell, and that is exactly what visitors of today are looking for.
  • The Brisbane Region currently receives 24 million visitors staying 51 million visitor nights.
  • Over 7.3 million visitors traveled to Brisbane in the year ending June 2020.
  • This total was made up of 1.05 million international visitors and over 6.3 million domestic visitors. Visitors to Brisbane.
  • Brisbane made $7.6 billion from tourism between July 2018 and June 2019.
  • $2.7 billion came from international visitors and $4.9 billion from domestic overnight visitors.
  • Brisbane’s largest interstate markets are Sydney and Melbourne.
  • The Brisbane Region’s visitor numbers are growing at rates faster than the national average.
  • The region converts fewer visitors to overnight stays than other capital cities, and its average length of stay and spend per day are lower.
  • Brisbane ranks 4th overall for average nights.
  • In 2019, domestic overnight expenditure in the Brisbane region grew 10.3% to a record $4.9bn.
  • For the first quarter of 2021 (January-March), Brisbane and the Gold Coast received over 2.4 million domestic overnight visitors from both interstate and intrastate sources.
  • Overnight visitors spent over $1.81 billion during visits to Brisbane and the Gold Coast for the first quarter of 2021 (January-March).
  • Brisbane’s top international tourist visitors come from the UK, India, China, US, Canada, Japan, and Korea.
  • In 2019, the larger proportion of its visitors include 21% of Chinese travellers, 19% of New Zealand tourists, and 15% of US guests.
  • In 2019, Brisbane was the 3rd most popular destination for both international and domestic overnight visitors.
  • The Brisbane region is experiencing a once-in-a-generation transformation of the visitor economy with more than $12 billion of new projects planned and underway.
  • Brisbane was confirmed as the host of the 2032 Olympic games.
  • Research by KPMG estimates the 2032 Brisbane Olympics will deliver $8.1 billion in direct economic benefits to the QLD economy and create 91,600 jobs over the next 20 years.
  • Increased international tourism and trade from the Olympics are estimated to deliver benefits of around $4.6 billion and $8.5 billion nationally.

MOTIVES & HABITS

  • Holidays (39%) remained the most common reason for domestic travel throughout the year ending September 2020, followed by visiting friends or relatives (30%) and business travel (24%)
  • At $100 per night, Brisbane ranked 6th for average per night spent by international tourists.
  • International tourists stayed in Brisbane for an average of 19 nights in 2019.
  • Visitors coming to see their friends and relatives contribute the most visitor nights.
  • Education visitors have the longest average stay accounting for only 4% of visitors but 18% of overall visitor nights.
  • Tourists flock to Brisbane during the Australian school vacation periods, especially around Christmas time.

OTHER TRENDS

  • Australia remains one of the most highly desirable destinations for luxury travelers
  • A typical trip to Australia costs foreign visitors about $5,000. 
  • Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane are the most visited cities in Australia.
  • Queensland as a state is famous for having five of the seven world heritage-listed sites in Australia.
  • With its location in the Asia Pacific region, growth in airline capacity, and its natural appeal, Brisbane is ideally positioned to experience significant increases in the volume of visitors.
  • Between 2009 and 2019, the number of domestic visitors to Brisbane increased by 73% and the number of international visitors by 50.3%.
  • The Australian cruise industry is booming. Current statistics suggest that 1 in every 17 Australians takes a cruise (over 5% of the population).
  • Each cruise visit to Brisbane is worth an estimated $1 million to all of Queensland, and as a state that is home to more than 14 cruise destinations
  • For Queensland, the region saw a colossal 520 ship visit days and 778,000 passenger visit days in 2020. These visits contributed a healthy $1Billion to the economy of the region.
  • Brisbane currently has more than 21,000 guest rooms and another 3,000 in development, Brisbane offers a range of boutique and international hotels for business events of all sizes.
  • As of September 2021, Brisbane was home to one of the highest concentrations of luxury hotels in Australia, with 36% of the hotels labeled as Luxury. Midscale and upper-midscale hotels accounted for 22%, closely followed by the upscale and upper-upscale categories at 18%.
  • As of May 2021, hotel occupancy rates in Brisbane, Australia were at around 86 percent of the levels seen in May 2019.
  • Brisbane Economic Development Agency is the regional tourism organisation that plays a vital role in growing Brisbane’s economy, driving demand for Brisbane, and creating growth and trade opportunities for local Brisbane businesses. 
  • New Zealand is the most popular destination for Aussies traveling abroad. 

REFERENCES

https://takeatumble.com.au/insights/lifestyle/tourism-statistics/

https://camperchamp.com.au/statistics/australia/queensland-tourism/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1284911/australia-brisbane-hotels-by-category/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1250049/australia-brisbane-hotel-market-recovery-post-covid-19/

https://maxcapgroup.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/MAXCAP_HOTEL_REPORT_2021.pdf

https://www.visitbrisbane.com.au/~/media/Choose/Investment/PDFs/Visitor%20Economy%20Guide%202031%20UPDATED

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/foreigners-flock-to-brisbane-in-record-numbers-bringing-their-billions-20200117-p53sbt.html

https://files.visitnoosa.com.au/media/Qld-International-Tourism-Snapshot-Year-ending-December-2019.pdf