Queensland Tourism Statistics

At a Glance

• 28.3 million overnight visitors travelled to Queensland in 2025: 25.9 million domestic¹ and 2.37 million international.²
• Australians also made 55.4 million day trips in Queensland in 2025, up 13.8% on 2024¹.
• Overnight visitors spent about A$35.2 billion in 2025: A$27.7 billion by domestic visitors¹ and A$7.48 billion by international visitors².
• Brisbane was the most visited region, with about 10.97 million overnight visitors¹.
• New Zealand was the largest international market, with a record 508,000 visitors².
• Domestic overnight visitors stayed 3.5 nights on average¹.
• K'gari (Fraser Island) was the most popular place to camp, with about 94,800 campers on park permits in the year to September 2026³.
• A national park camping permit costs $7.75 per person per night from 1 July 2026⁴.

About 28.3 million overnight visitors travelled to Queensland in 2025 (year ending December).

• This total included about 25.9 million domestic overnight visitors, essentially unchanged (up 0.1%) on 2024¹⁵. These figures come from Tourism Research Australia's new Domestic Tourism Statistics survey, which replaced the National Visitor Survey in January 2025, so 2025 domestic numbers are not directly comparable with the earlier years on this page.
• Queensland also had about 2.37 million international visitors in 2025⁶, about 10% more than the 2.16 million recorded in 2024.
• International visitor numbers were still about 15% below Queensland’s 2019 level (2.78 million)⁷.

How much did tourists spend in Queensland in 2025?

• Domestic overnight visitors spent about A$27.68 billion in 2025⁵ (down 1.3% on 2024, comparing like with like under the new survey¹), while international visitors spent around A$7.48 billion⁶ (up about 20% from A$6.22 billion in 2024).
• Combined, overnight visitors spent about A$35.2 billion in Queensland in 2025. In 2019, before the pandemic, overnight visitors spent about A$25.52 billion: A$19.44 billion by domestic visitors⁸ and A$6.08 billion by international visitors⁷. Domestic figures before 2025 come from the older National Visitor Survey, so the two years are not directly comparable.

• Domestic overnight visitors spent 92 million nights in Queensland in 2025, an average of 3.5 nights per trip. Interstate visitors stayed 4.9 nights on average, and Queenslanders travelling within the state 3.1 nights¹.
• International visitors stayed an average of 23.5 nights, or 55.6 million nights in total⁶. International students, who stay about 113 nights on average, pull this figure up².

New Zealand is Queensland's largest international market, with a record 508,000 visitors in 2025 (up 4.5%)².

• The next largest markets were the United Kingdom (249,000 visitors), the United States (228,000), China (208,000) and Japan (163,000)².
• China was the biggest market by spending, at about A$1.28 billion (up 40%), ahead of New Zealand (A$990.4 million) and the United Kingdom (A$658.2 million, a record)².

• About 10.97 million overnight visitors travelled to the Brisbane region in 2025 (year ending December): 1.33 million international visitors⁶ and 9.64 million domestic overnight visitors¹.
• Read more: Brisbane Tourism Statistics

How many tourists visit the Gold Coast each year?

• The Gold Coast welcomed about 5.76 million overnight visitors in 2025: 682,000 international visitors⁶ and 5.08 million domestic overnight visitors¹.
• New Zealand is the Gold Coast's largest international market, with 217,000 visitors in 2025, down 2.4% on 2024².
• Read more: Gold Coast Tourism Statistics

How many tourists visit the Great Barrier Reef each year?

• Over 2 million tourists visit the Great Barrier Reef each year¹².
• Most Great Barrier Reef tourism is centred on Cairns and the Whitsundays.

How many tourists visit Cairns each year?

• Tropical North Queensland, the region around Cairns, drew about 2.38 million overnight visitors in 2025: 622,000 international visitors⁶ and 1.76 million domestic overnight visitors¹.
• Read more: Cairns Tourism Statistics

How many tourists visit the Whitsundays each year?

• About 873,000 overnight visitors travelled to the Whitsundays in 2025: 176,000 international visitors and 697,000 domestic overnight visitors.¹³

How much do visitors spend in the Whitsundays?

• Visitors spent about A$1.2 billion in the Whitsundays in 2025: A$970.6 million by domestic visitors (including day trips) and A$233.5 million by international visitors.¹³

How long do visitors stay in the Whitsundays?

• International visitors stayed an average of 7.5 nights in the Whitsundays in 2025, and domestic overnight visitors 3.6 nights.¹³
• About 3.8 million visitor nights were spent in the Whitsundays in 2025 (2.5 million domestic and 1.3 million international).¹³

Australians took about 3.2 million caravan and camping trips in Queensland in 2024 and spent about 13 million nights there¹⁴. That was the third-highest of any state, behind New South Wales (5.1 million trips) and Victoria (3.9 million).

• Caravans and campervans: Queensland had 254,025 registered recreational vehicles in January 2025, 27% of Australia's fleet and the most of any state¹⁵.
• Across Australia: Australians took 17.3 million overnight caravan and camping trips in 2025¹⁵. Queensland's own 2025 figures are only in a members-only industry report, so 2024 is the latest year publicly available for the state.
• National parks and forests: Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service issued about 231,000 camping permits for about 544,700 campers in 2025.