19 March 2008

$3b spent by Aussies on the Gold Coast

More than 3.7 million Australia overnight tourists spent over $3 billion dollars on the Gold Coast last year, with Australian overnight tourists spending more money on the Gold Coast than in any other Queensland destination, third nationally behind only Melbourne and Sydney.

Just one week after posting a 3.5% growth in international tourists, the Gold Coast has delivered a 3.5% increase in Australian overnight visitors for 2007.

In addition to the Australia overnight tourists, the Gold Coast received 6 million daytrip visitors contributing a further $584 million to the cityÃ¢â¬â¢s total tourism receipts.

Australian Overnight Visitors to the Gold Coast by Spend and Nights

Visitors - 3,707,000 (up 3.5%)

Visitor Spend - $3 billion (up 8%)

Australian Overnight Visitors to the Gold Coast by Top Three Cities

Brisbane - 947,596 (down 22%)

Sydney - 568,702 (up 11%)

Melbourne - 384,594 (up 39%)

Gold Coast Tourism spokesperson Ben Pole said, Ã¢â¬ÅâœAustralianÃ¢â¬â¢s love the Gold Coast."

"We have seen an increase of 3.5% in Australian overnight visitors last year, while the rest of nation remained almost flat at just 0.3% growth."

"The Gold Coast also grew our international visitation by around double that of the national average, so the overseas tourists love us also."

"Our city is outperforming other destinations by achieving better visitor growth and significantly higher visitor spend.Ã¢â¬~

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThe commitment made by Gold Coast City Council and the businesses of the Gold Coast to take tourism seriously is being repaid, but we are not content and there is much more work to be done."

"This Easter period will indicate just how well our city can bounce back from an unusually dampened Christmas holiday season.Ã¢â¬~

Ã¢â¬ÅâœGold Coast Tourism is making a strong push for even more Australian visitors this year using platforms such as the GCBazaar festival in June, promotions with our airline partners and joint campaigns with local tourism businesses and Tourism Queensland.Ã¢â¬~

A Report by The Mole