Whitsundays Tourism Statistics 2024

Page last updated: 08 May 2025

The Whitsundays region in Queensland, Australia, is a top tropical tourism destination with white-sand beaches and clear waters. It’s popular especially with domestic visitors, thanks to its direct access to the Great Barrier Reef.

Table of Contents

How many tourists visit the Whitsundays each year?

Over 800,000 people visit The Whitsundays each year, mostly domestic visitors.

In 2024, visitors to the Whitsundays totalled 897,000.

In 2019, before the pandemic, 851,000 visitors to the region.

Visitations dropped by 32.4% (to 575,000) in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were 791,000 domestic visitors in 2021, while the number of international visitors was not published.

In 2022, the region rebounded strongly with 908,000 visitors, the highest ever recorded.

Note: 2021 data represents domestic visitors only, as data of international visitors is not available

Who visited the Whitsundays in 2024?

In 2024, the Whitsundays had 188,000 international visitors (21% of total visitors), while the number of domestic visitors was 709,000 (79%).

How much do visitors spend in the Whitsundays region?

Whitsunday visitors spent over A$1 billion annually in the last few years.

Visitors spent A$694.5 million in 2019, before the pandemic.

The figure increased to A$1.66 billion in 2024, indicating a strong recovery from the pandemic.

How Much Do Tourists Spend in the Whitsundays Region?

Year	Domestic Visitors (in Million A$)	International Visitors (in Million A$)
2019	A$542.8	A$151.7
2020	n/a	A$40.2
2021	A$992.6	n/a
2022	A$1521.1	n/a
2023	A$1,206	n/a
2024	A$1,410.3	A$252

Note: Domestic visitor spending data for 2020 and international visitor spending data for 2021, 2022 and 2023 is not published.

Domestic vs International Visitor Spending

Generally, domestic visitors spend more than international visitors. In 2024:

Domestic visitors spent an average of $446 per night.

International visitors spent an average of $188 per night.

How long do visitors stay in the Whitsundays?

International visitors stayed longer than domestic visitors in the Whitsundays.

In 2024, international visitors spent 7.1 nights on average.

Among domestic visitors, interstate visitors spent an average of 5.9 nights. Intrastate visitors spent an average of 3.6 nights.

Why do people visit the Whitsundays?

The Whitsundays are predominantly a holiday travel destination.

In 2024, holiday travel accounted for 77.5% of total visits (695,000).

Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) is the second-largest segment at 13.7% (123,000 visitors).

The remaining 8.8% (79,000 visitors) visited for other reasons.

What are the main attractions in the Whitsundays?

Great Barrier Reef: Part of the Great Barrier Reef is in the Whitsundays region (total of 2 million visitors a year).

Whitehaven Beach & Hill Inlet: Whitehaven Beach is one of the world’s most photographed beaches. 75,000 people visit annually.

Hamilton Island: The largest island in the Whitsundays, Hamilton Island has luxury resorts, and a wide choice of dining options and activities like hiking to Passage Peak for views. Since the Oatley family took over, annual visitors to Hamilton Island have almost doubled, from around 70,000 to 130,000.

Airlie Beach: The main entrance to the Whitsunday Islands.

Whitsunday Islands National Park: This park includes several Whitsunday Islands. Between 2010 and 2015, over 500,000 visitors a year.

Whitsundays Travel Resources

How many tourists visited the Whitsundays in 2024?

In 2024, 897,000 people visited The Whitsundays, a strong recovery from the pandemic lows.

Among them, 188,000 were international visitors, while 709,000 were domestic visitors.

How much did tourists spend visiting the Whitsundays in 2024?

Total spending on the Whitsundays in 2024 was A$1.66 billion, a 2.5-fold increase from pre-pandemic 2019.

Who spent the most in the Whitsundays in 2024?

Domestic visitors spent the most in the Whitsundays in 2024.

In 2024, domestic visitors spent A$1.41 billion in the Whitsundays, a 16.9% increase from the previous year.

Meanwhile, international visitors spent A$252 million in the same year.

How many tourists visited the Whitsundays in 2023?

In 2023, the Whitsundays had 724,000 domestic visitors, a 15% reduction from the previous year.

There was no available data for international visitors for 2023.

How much did tourists spend visiting the Whitsundays in 2023?

Domestic visitors spent AU$ 1.21 billion in the region, a 20.7% decrease from the previous year but a 122% increase from the pre-pandemic year 2019.

Impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the Whitsundays tourism(2020-2021)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors dropped by 32.4% (575,000) in 2020. There is no available international visitation data for 2021, but the number of domestic visitors increased by 48.7% (791,000).

In 2020, international visitors spent only A$40.2 million. In 2021, domestic visitors spent A$992.6 million.

Statistics by Attraction

References

TEQ: The Whitsundays tourism statistics for 2024.

TEQ: The Whitsundays tourism statistics.

FORBES: Visitors in Hamilton Island

WINGS: Visitors at Whitehaven Beach.