General News
7 October, 2025
Overseas visitor spending reaches record $12bn
INTERNATIONAL visitor spending in Tropical North Queensland (TNQ) has reached a record $1.2 billion, an increase of 24.7%.
According to figures for the year ended 30 June, the growth in expenditure was due to an increase in spend per night, along with an increase in visitation.
According to the International Visitor Survey (IVS) the average spend per night increased 31.1% to $239 and visitation increased 14.2% to 568,000.
“The main reason international visitors travel to TNQ is for a holiday, with holiday visitation growing 14.3% to 502,000,” the survey report said.
“Visitation grew across TNQ’s major markets, including Japan (up 8.3% to 98,000), the USA (up 7.4% to 90,000), the UK (up 3.9% to 74,000) and New Zealand (up 4.6% to 30,000).
“Visitation from China more than doubled (up 100.5% to 40,000), reflecting the delayed recovery after COVID-19.”
Total international arrivals through Cairns International Airport were 335,659 for the year end 30 June.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen said Tropical North Queensland was “one of the heavy lifters of Australia’s international tourism”.
“The most recent results from the international visitor survey show that again, the tourism industry in tropical north Queensland is doing that heavy lifting. $1.2 billion in international visitor spend is a new record for our region,” he said.
“Key markets like the US and Japan have set all-time records well above what we saw in 2019. While the volume of the visitors isn’t back, the spend per night and the spend per trip here in Tropical North Queensland is arguably the highest in the country.
“We’re seeing long stays, great visitors getting out and doing the experiences. Right across the board, we’re seeing growth, including in some of our more challenging markets.”
