Page last updated: 05 September 2024
Table of Contents
How many tourists visit Cairns each year?
Over 1.5 million domestic day trip visitors travelled to Cairns in 2023, leading to 6.73 million domestic visitor nights.
- This reflected an 8% increase in domestic visitor nights compared to the previous year, 2021/22, which recorded 5.55 domestic visitor nights.
- Although international visitor nights were not specified for 2022/23, the region’s total visitor count, including domestic day trips and international visitors, was estimated at around 2.2 million.
- This total was 13% lower than the 2018/19 peak of 2.55 million visitors.
Who visited Cairns in 2023?
The largest international market for Cairns, based on previous patterns, was likely Japan, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Germany.
- While exact numbers were not reported for international visitor nights, these countries traditionally represent significant proportions of Cairns’ international market.
How much did tourists spend in Cairns in 2023?
For the year ending June 2023, tourists in Cairns generated a total of $1.364 billion in output/total sales.
This spending is attributed to a combination of domestic and international visitors, with the following key details:
- $640 million in gross value added, representing 6.5% of the total industry value in the region.
- The tourism industry in Cairns supported 6,777 local jobs, which accounted for 7.7% of the total local employment.
- The economic impact included an additional $1.167 billion in indirect effects, bringing the total value added to $1.807 billion.
How many tourists visited Cairns in 2019?
Over 3 million tourists and other visitors arrived in Cairns in 2019.1
- This figure includes 799,000 international visitors, over 1.1 million domestic overnight visitors and over 1.1 million domestic day trip visitors.
Impact of Coronavirus Travel Ban
- A travel ban implemented by the Australian government on the 1st of February 2020 for non-citizens travelling from or through China is expected to cause significant disruption for Chinese visitors to Cairns
Quotes and Media Statements
“There have been more than $10 million in direct bookings in the Cairns and Great Barrier Reef region cancelled to date as a result of the coronavirus. (…) Tourism Tropical North Queensland members have seen more than 25,000 direct cancellations of experiences and accommodation.”
Mark Olsen, Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO, 3 February 2020 2
Read more on the impact of the coronavirus travel ban.
How much money does Cairns make from tourism?
- Tourists spent a total of $2.4 billion in Cairns in 2019.
- Visitors spent an average of $787 per trip.
- This equated to an average spend of $232 per night.
- International tourists spent an average of $188 per night.
How many tourists visit Queensland each year?
Over 22.3 million travellers visited Queensland in the year ending June 2020.
- Read more Queensland tourism statistics
Cairns camping & campervan statistics
- The number of camping trips throughout Queensland has grown by 45.8% over the 10-year period from 2008 to 2018.3
- In 2018 over 1.3 million overnight camping trips were made in Queensland.
- Camping trips – including caravan, campervan, commercial and non-commercial camping – made up 13.9% of visitor nights for domestic travellers to Queensland in 2019 (year ending September).
Other resources
Travel Statistics Resources
References
- TRA: Cairns Local Government area profile 2019 ↩
- Tourism Tropical North QLD: CEO Statement on Coronavirus impact↩
- TRA: International visitor Survey, Trends 2019, National Visitor Survey, Trends 2019↩
- TRA: National Visitor Survey (NVS) and International Visitor Survey (IVS)
- CRC: Tourism Industry in Cairns