The Gold Coast has set a new record, with the latest National and International Visitor Survey from Tourism Research Australia showing visitor spending reached A$8.1 billion (US$5.2 billion) for the year ending December 2024.
This represents a 37 per cent increase from 2019 and a 5.2 per cent rise from the year ending September 2024, solidifying the city’s status as a key destination for tourism and business.
Visitor numbers also saw a significant increase, with 13 million people visiting the Gold Coast in the year ending December 2024, up from 12.2 million the previous year, highlighting the region’s ongoing growth and popularity.
Domestic overnight visitation also increased, with 4.3 million people visiting the Gold Coast in the year ending December 2024, up from 4.1 million in the previous year, driven by record visitation from the Sunshine Coast and New South Wales.
New Zealand set its third consecutive record with 222,000 visitors, while international tourism contributed A$1.2 billion to the economy. The Gold Coast’s other top international markets were China, India, and the UK.
The survey results come as the Gold Coast continues the clean-up from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfed earlier this month which saw almost half the city’s tourism operators closed for more than seven days.
Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn commented: “It’s fantastic to see the Gold Coast outperforming both Queensland (+2.8 per cent expenditure) and Australia (+0.9 per cent) in expenditure growth for domestic overnight.
“The Gold Coast is bouncing back, but we still have a massive job ahead, to support our tourism operators, accommodation providers and restaurants and cafés.”
Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate added: “The city’s plans to expand our nature-based tourism offerings will further ignite the passion so many Aussies, and international visitors, have for Gold Coast.’’
