Marketing campaigns contribute to record breaking year for Gold Coast tourism

The latest National and International Visitor Survey results from Tourism Research Australia has revealed the Gold Coast continues to set new records with visitor spending having soared to $8.1 billion for the year ending December 2024.

This marks an impressive 37% increase from 2019 and a 5.2% rise from the year ending September 2024, further cementing the city’s reputation as a premier destination for both tourism and business.

Visitor numbers also experienced a notable rise, with 13 million people visiting the Gold Coast in the year ending December 2024, up from 12.2 million in the previous year, signalling the region's continued growth and popularity.

Experience Gold Coast Chief Executive John Warn said it’s incredibly encouraging to see the growth in both visitor numbers and spending noting “this significant increase underscores the Gold Coast's enduring appeal and strengthens our position as a world-class destination for tourism, business, education, and major events.”

Domestic overnight visitation was also up with 4.3 million people visiting the city in the year ending December 2024, compared to 4.1 million in year ending December 2023, with record visitation from Sunshine Coast and New South Wales.

Warn enthused “It’s fantastic to see the Gold Coast outperforming both Queensland (+2.8% expenditure) and Australia (+0.9%) in expenditure growth for domestic overnight.

“These results demonstrate the success of our campaigns like Sneeky Mid-Weeky and Experience Exchange, which have helped attract more visitors to the region.”

New Zealand set its third consecutive record with 222,000 visitors, while international overall contributed a steady $1.2 billion to the economy.

The Gold Coast’s other top international source markets were China, India and the United Kingdom.

OVERALL HIGHLIGHTS

• Generated $8.1 billion in revenue, up from $7.8 billion in the year ending December 2023.

• Generated $8.1 billion in revenue, up from $7.7 billion from last quarter, year ending September 2024.

• 13 million total visitors to the Gold Coast in the year ending December 2024, up from 12.2 million visiting the Gold Coast in the year ending December 2023.

• 13 million total visitors to the Gold Coast in the year ending December 2024, up from 12.4 million visiting the Gold Coast from last quarter, year ending September 2024.

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS

• NSW total overnight visitors set a new record with 1.3 million visitors, up from 1.2 million visitors from year ending December 2023.

• Regional NSW overnight visitors set a new record with 680,000 visitors, up from 524,000 visitors in the year ending December 2023.

• Sunshine Coast overnight visitors set a new record with 249,000 visitors, up from 185,000 visitors in the year ending December 2023.

INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

• New Zealand visitors set another new record with 222,000 visitors, up from 201,000 visitors in the year ending December 2023.

• Chinese visitors increased to 53,000 visitors in the year ending December 2024, up from 29,000 in the year ending December 2023, an increase of 83%.

• India visitors increased to 27,000 visitors in year ending December 2024, up from 16,000 in year ending December 2023, an increase of 68%

Image. Gold Coast campaign Sneeky Mid Weeky. Credit: Experience Gold Coast