Tourism market profile

Queensland has earned a reputation as a world class location for tourism, with cosmopolitan cities, beautiful beaches, rugged outback locations and friendly country towns.

Globally competitive products and services and unique holiday destinations combine to provide strong investment opportunities in the tourism and services sectors.

Key tourism statistics

  • More than 27 million domestic and international overnight visitors came to Queensland in the year ending March 2023.
  • Queensland's tourism industry is a $22 billion industry for the state, with domestic and international visitors spending $90.1 million per day in the year ending March 2023.
  • The tourism industry directly and indirectly employs 206,000 Queenslanders—or 1 in 15 of all people employed in Queensland.

Learn more about Queensland's tourism statistics, research and insights.

Accessible Queensland destinations

Queensland has 5 international airports that provide direct access to strategic global markets in North and South Asia, Europe and the United States. These airports are located in Brisbane, Cairns, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Townsville.

Investment opportunities

Learn more about the benefits of doing business in Queensland and opportunities in regional Queensland.

Major events and conferences

The Queensland Government drives demand by attracting conferences and events, including the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, which was the biggest event held in Australia this decade.

Strong tourism industry networks

Our Tourism Investment Attraction Unit (TIAU) works with the Australian Government's Austrade and local governments to assist investors with tourism infrastructure projects.

Each tourism destination in Queensland is represented by a regional tourism organisation (RTO), as well as local tourism organisations (LTOs), local governments and other associations.

These measures significantly reduce investment risks so tourism investors can focus on providing world-class products and services.

Learn more about who's who in the tourism industry from the DestinationQ website.