Tourism Research Australia has this week released visitation data for the year ending March 2023 with record results for the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
A record $1.7 billion was spent by more than 2.3 million visitors in the Southern Great Barrier Reef (SGBR) region in the year ending March 2023 - an increase of 31.9% on the YE 2022 expenditure and an impressive 38.7% growth on 2019.
The Bundaberg region welcomed $361 million in domestic overnight expenditure, an impressive 22% increase in just 3 months and an all-time record within the region, with visitor numbers remaining steady and visitor nights increasing by 7.6%.
The Gladstone region saw the largest growth across the SGBR, with visitor numbers growing 10.9% in just three months to 568,000 and visitor nights growing by an incredible 26% to 2,070,000. Most impressively though was the visitor expenditure in region, which at $385 million increased by 18% in the last 3 months and an incredible 67% since 2019.
The Capricorn Region continued to drive considerable results for the SGBR’s visitor economy, with 1,246,000 visitors staying 4,429,000 nights and spending more that $915 million in the past year.
Bundaberg Tourism CEO Katherine Reid said “Tourism is a major contributor to Bundaberg’s regional economy, and these figures show that it’s an industry that will continue to have major economic benefits for our community in the future as our accommodation infrastructure catches up with demand, as presented by researchers AEC at the Bundaberg Business Breakfast this week.
“We know that in the five years prior to COVID, Bundaberg was recording an average annual growth rate of 7.5% in visitation and have ambitiously set forward Overnight Visitor Expenditure growth rates of 10.5% per year to reach our aspirational 2032 targets for the region.
“The only way we will achieve this, is as a unified region, focused on growing industry, inspiring visitors and delivering social, environmental and economic benefits for community.”
Capricorn Enterprise CEO Mary Carroll said, “For more than a decade, the strategic marketing alliance between the Regional Tourism Organisations of Bundaberg, Gladstone and Capricorn, the communities they support and Tourism and Events Queensland has developed the Southern Great Barrier Reef into a destination of choice for Australian and international travellers.
“Consumer research conducted in key markets across Australia by Tourism and Events Queensland continues to demonstrate that the Southern Great Barrier Reef is one of the most trusted and well-known destination brands in Queensland.”
GAPDL CEO Gus Stedman said, “In the past three years, the SGBR has experienced incredible positive growth, with operators across the entire region reporting higher occupancy and visitation rates than they could ever have expected, especially in the face of a global pandemic.”
“Investment in tourism is truly paying off for the region’s economy.”
