Tourism Research Australia has this week released visitation data for the year ending March 2023 with record results for the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
Official Tourism Research Australia (TRA) data released recently confirmed that to the year ending March 2023, the Capricorn region saw a whopping 31.2 per cent increase in total overnight visitor expenditure, a 16.9 per cent increase in visitors and a 22 per cent increase in visitor nights.
1,246,000 domestic visitors stayed for 4,429,000 visitor nights and spent $915 Million dollars in the Capricorn region to the year ending March 2023.
Whether staying for a holiday, business, or visiting friends and relatives (VFR), our region straddling the Tropic of Capricorn showed growth in all three precincts of the Capricorn Coast/Islands, Rockhampton region, and the Central Queensland Highlands.
The Capricorn region accounted for 53.2 per cent of domestic visitors, 51.7 per cent of domestic visitor nights and 55.1 per cent of domestic visitor expenditure to the greater Southern Great Barrier Reef destination which includes the three regions of Capricorn, Gladstone and Bundaberg.
Tourism is an important contributor to our regional economy and we have seen fantastic growth over the past few years. The Capricorn Coast has seen visitor numbers grow more than 35% and expenditure grow an incredible 175 per cent since 2019.
We have set ambitious forward Overnight Visitor Expenditure growth rates across the SGBR to reach our aspirational 2032 targets, and these figures give us great confidence that we are on track as a unified region, focused on growing industry, inspiring visitors and delivering social, environmental and economic benefits for community”
A record $1.66 billion was spent by more than 2.3 million visitors in the Southern Great Barrier Reef (SGBR) region in the year ending March 2023 – an increase of 31.9 per cent on the YE 2022 expenditure and an impressive 38.7 per cent growth on 2019.
For more than a decade, the strategic marketing alliance between the Regional Tourism Organisations of Capricorn, Gladstone and Bundaberg, the communities they support and Tourism and Events Queensland has developed the Southern Great Barrier Reef into a destination of choice for Australian and international travellers.
Consumer research conducted in key markets across Australia by Tourism and Events Queensland continues to demonstrate that the Southern Great Barrier Reef is one of the most trusted and well-known destination brands in Queensland.
Investment in tourism is truly paying off for the region’s economy.
Until next time……
