The Sunshine Coast has attracted 4.2 million visitors in the 12 months to September 2023, racking up $4.2 billion in overnight visitor expenditure (OVE) according to Tourism Research Australia in their latest National Visitor Survey (NVS).
OVE in the Sunshine Coast compared to the previous year period, was up by 11.8 per cent and 53.7 per cent ahead of 2019.
The Coast saw a record 2.5m holiday visitors within the 4.2m who visited the region, which was up by 1.7 per cent from the year before, and 12.9 compared to 2019.
To add to the positive findings from the NVS, visitors also stayed longer in the region, with over 15.3m nights recorded, up 5.6 per cent year on year (YOY).
Sunshine Coast’s success in tourism in the last year has been credited to the regional airline based on the Sunshine Coast, Bonza Airlines, with a 14.3 per cent YOY increase in interstate visitation, to 1.1m.
Encouragingly, while many destinations saw domestic traveller numbers plateau or slide during the most recent September quarter (1 July – 30 September), the Sunshine Coast bucked the trend.
Visit Sunshine Coast Head of Industry & Trade Development, Andrew Fairbairn, said Sunshine Coast tourism industry deserved a pat on the back for performing so strongly in a highly competitive tourism environment.
“Australians have increasingly chosen to travel overseas over the past year, which has made attracting premium visitors even more difficult, but the quality of the Sunshine Coast brand, and the desirability of our destination has enabled us to remain competitive, while other destinations have seen downturns,” said Mr Fairbairn.
“Visit Sunshine Coast’s marketing campaigns were targeted heavily towards rebuilding the interstate market, and with a return of direct flights from key cities, as well as the launch of new regional services via the Bonza network, we have been very successful in attracting both new and return interstate visitors.
“We are constantly trying to excite the market with new reasons to come to the Sunshine Coast, and while competitive pressures continue to grow, the recent forecast by Sunshine Coast Airport of record passenger movements for the summer holiday period suggests tourism numbers will continue to grow both in the short and medium terms.”