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, driving an increase in interstate visitation.
