The latest Tourism and Events Queensland International Visitor Survey has been released and Brisbane is a star performer with record highs in both international visitation and total expenditure. 

For the year to March 2019, international visitation saw an increase of 4.5 per cent to 1.4 million people and expenditure grew a whopping 15 per cent $2.8 billion. 

Queensland as a whole had a big jump in expenditure, up 8.6 per cent on the previous year to $6 billion. The main purpose of the visits was for a holiday (1.848M), visiting family and relatives (719,000), business (206,000), and education (121,000). Interestingly, education has the biggest increase in the purpose for visitation with a 14 percent year-on-year increase. 

Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said tourism is a key industry for the state.  

“Queensland’s tourism industry continues to grow because we’re partnering with the private sector to invest more than ever before in this sector.

“Tourism is a cornerstone of our economy and vital to jobs growth in Queensland,” said Ms Jones. 

The top markets based on expenditure were as follows

• China - $1,567M
• New Zealand - $563M
• UK - $437M
• Japan - $427M
• USA - $405M
• Taiwan - $248M
• Korea - $218M
• Hong Kong - $179M
• Germany - $164M
• Singapore - $150M

Hannah Schuhmann said  tourism figures are set to explode with Qantas just announcing direct flights to Chicago and San Francisco,  and the second airport runway due to open early next year. 

The Brisbane to Chicago direct flights will begin in April 2020 and will run four times per week, making the 16.5 hour route the fourth largest passenger flight in the world. 

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the launch of the direct 787 flights from Brisbane to the USA is a win for Queensland, and it shows confidence in the local tourism industry. 

"These new services will connect both Australian business travellers and holidaymakers with key centres of commerce, industry and culture in the United States," said Mr Joyce.