July 3, 2015
New research released by Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) today estimates there has been an 11.3 per cent rise in domestic tourism across the Southern Queensland Country region in the year ending March 2015.
Southern Queensland Country includes the South Burnett, Toowoomba, Southern Downs (Granite Belt) and Western Downs. It is one of the 11 tourism regions in the State.
Tourism numbers in Southern Queensland Country over the last year were driven by strong growth in the business sector, TEQ says.
Growth in both the holiday and “visiting friends and relatives” categories was more modest.
Total tourist spending in Southern Queensland Country was estimated at $715.4 million, and the average spend per head was $366.35.
TEQ estimate that Southern Queensland Country played host to 1.65 million interstate visitors (up 12.4 per cent) and 348,000 domestic visitors (up 6.1 per cent) in the last year.
They also estimate the region took a 5.2 per cent slice of the State’s total tourism spend.
Nationally, TEQ say Queensland now has a 24.8 per cent share of Australia’s total domestic tourism market, just behind NSW (28.3 per cent) but ahead of all other states, including Victoria (20.9 per cent).
This is a 1.9 per cent improvement over the previous twelve months.
