More overseas visitors are coming to Queensland, with a six per cent jump in international holidaymakers from March 2012-13, compared to the previous year.

International Visitor Survey results released today revealed almost 1.4 million overseas visitors spent $2.1 billion on visits to Queensland.

“Today’s results are encouraging for the Queensland tourism industry and the State Government, and reinforce the value of efforts to provide greater air travel access,” said Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games Jann Stuckey.

“Queensland recorded higher increases than the national average across several international markets including China (up 23%), the US (up 11%), Japan (up 7%), Germany (up 12%) and Singapore (up 34%).”
 
Key highlights in the survey include:

• Visitor nights increased 11 per cent to 45.5 million
• International visitor spending in Queensland increased four per cent to almost $4 billion.

Ms Stuckey said the important international youth travel market from Continental Europe had also performed strongly in the year to March, increasing 11 per cent.

Despite the economic climate, several European markets recorded increases, including Germany (up 12% to 76,000), France (up 5% to 40,000), Italy (up 20% to 24,000) and Switzerland (up 20% to 18,000). The UK market also continued to show signs of stabilising, with 139,000 visitors, and Japan recorded a 7 per cent increase, to 175,000.

The Kiwis continue to dominate, with figures from Queensland’s largest international market remaining stable at 409,000 visitors spending $520 million.

Meanwhile, yesterday's State Budget invested more than $100 million in Queensland’s tourism industry. 

The Government will provide $111.6 million to the newly merged Tourism and Events Queensland this year, including an additional $15 million to drive visitation across the State, and $15 million for tourism and event marketing development.

Regional tourism can also expect continued growth, with $7 million provided to the Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO) network, which includes incentives for local investment.

Tourism is one of the State’s largest employers, contributing approximately $18 billion annually to the economy and supporting around 120,000 direct jobs.

In 2012, Queensland welcomed more than 20 million international and domestic overnight visitors.