Kiwis arrivals to Queensland are now just below pre-pandemic levels, while spend surges ahead.
Data from Tourism Research Australia shows the state welcomed 7.4 million international visitors in the year ending Sep 2024, and of this more than 1.2 million were Kiwis.
The global number is down 14.2% on 2019, however, the Kiwi market itself is down just 4.6% on 2019.
This makes us the market closest to reaching 2019 levels of the top five markets analysed, with the others being Asia, North America, UK and Europe. Visiting friends and family was the number one reason Kiwis headed to the state last year, accounting for 591,000 of visits, down just 0.1% on the year ending in Sep 2019.
The holiday sector also saw similar numbers, with 532,000 Kiwis in Queensland for a holiday, just 0.2% below 2019.
Looking at business travel, recovery is a little slower, with Kiwis making 167,000 business trips to the state for the year ending Sep, down 26.8% on 2019 levels.
… Spend
International visitors contributed AUD6.1 billion to the state’s econ-omy, matching 2019 levels, with New Zealanders behind a signifi-cant portion of this. In fact, the STO notes that New Zealanders have never spent more in Queensland than they did in the year ending Sep 2024, splashing out a record AUD835.2 million, a rise of 37.9%.
