Page last updated: 26 June 2025
Table of Contents
How many tourists visit Cairns each year?
In 2024, the Cairns region (Tropical North Queensland) welcomed around 2.7 million visitors in total.
This figure includes approximately 2.16 million domestic overnight visitors and about 543,000 international visitors.
- International arrivals to Cairns jumped by roughly 17% year-on-year as overseas travel recovered, though international visitor numbers were still approximately one-third below pre-pandemic levels.
How much did tourists spend in Cairns in 2024?
Tourists spent A$4.26 billion in Cairns in the year ending December 2024.
- Domestic visitors contributed about A$3.28 billion, which was approximately 13% lower than the domestic spend of A$3.75 billion in 2023.
- International visitors spent around A$980 million in 2024, which was about 5% lower than the pre-pandemic peak of A$1.03 billion in 2019.
| Total Visitor Spending in Cairns |
| Year Ending December (AUD Billion) |
| Year | International | Domestic |
| 2019 | A$1.03 B | A$2.51 B |
| 2023 | A$0.89 B | A$3.75 B |
| 2024 | A$0.98 B | A$3.28 B |
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).
Cairns Travel Resources
Statistics by Attraction
- Bondi Beach Statistics
- Broome Statistics
- Byron Bay Statistics
- Cradle Mountain Statistics
- Fraser Island Statistics
- Noosa Statistics
- Rottnest Island Statistics
- Sunshine Coast Statistics
- Sydney Opera House Statistics
- The Whitsundays Statistics
- Warner Bros. Movie World Statistics
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