Domestic tourism in Brisbane skyrocketed in the year to June 2018, growing by 4.5% to $7.1 million, reports Tourism and Events Queensland in their latest Domestic Tourism Snapshot.

Strong growth of 11.4% was recorded in overnight domestic visitor expenditure, up to $4.4 billion. Total expenditure was driven up by visitor spend per night which increased by 4.8%. Visitors travelling for the purpose of a holiday grew 20.9% to a record 2.1 million visitors. Travelling for the purpose of business was steady at 1.8 million visitors but these travelers stayed longer which saw a jump in business nights by 24.7% to record levels of 4.7 million. This business travel growth was due to the interstate market which increased by 10.3% to 1.1 million.

The Commonwealth Games, NRL matches, and the Ireland Rugby Test may be linked to these good results, along with high commercial accommodation rates and demand which are likely to have had an effect on the expenditure figures.

Acting Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner told choose.brisbane.com.au the results come as no surprise.

“With world-class events and an enviable outdoor lifestyle, it’s no surprise Aussies are being lured – hook, line and sinker – to our New World City.

“New restaurants, bars and experiences are also creating interest in the city as a lifestyle destination, giving tourists more reasons to visit.

“Aussies are falling in love with Brisbane as a holiday destination. Major events attract visitors from around Australia and contribute more than $150 million in economic impact to Brisbane each year,” said Cr Schrinner.

Queensland as a whole also recorded excellent results:

• Total expenditure – up by 10.3% to $17 billion
• Total visitors – up to 4.7% to 22.5 million
• Intrastate visitors – up to 4.6% to 15.7 million
• Interstate visitors – up by 4.9% to 6.7 million
• Purpose of domestic overnight visit – ‘holiday’ up 7.3% to 8.895 million.