Visitor growth continues across Capricorn Region with RECORD overnight Visitor Expenditure to year ending December 2022!
Posted on April 19th, 2023
Official Tourism Research Australia (TRA) data released recently confirmed 1,245,000 domestic visitors, staying for 4,582,000 visitor nights and spending $973 Million dollars in the Capricorn region to the year ending December 2022, with record expenditure in the leisure sector!
Whether staying for a holiday, business, or visiting friends and relatives (VFR), our region straddling the Tropic of Capricorn showed growth in all three precincts of the Capricorn Coast/Islands, Rockhampton region, and the Central Queensland Highlands.
The statistics confirm trends which reflect industry feedback on the ground:
- The average length of stay of 5.3 nights and spend per visitor of $915 on the Capricorn Coast and islands has been particularly strong, largely due to an increase in domestic leisure visitors (holiday and VFR).
- Visitors to the Rockhampton region remain strong, particularly from the domestic Business sector, staying for an average of 2.5 nights and spending $735 per visitor.
- Strong growth in domestic holiday visitors, particularly to Carnarvon Gorge, have revealed an average length of stay of 3.3 nights, with each visitor spending $589 in the Central Queensland Highlands.
Our domestic source markets from within Queensland have all grown, with movement within the greater Southern Great Barrier Reef destination (which includes Capricorn, Gladstone and Bundaberg regions) reflecting incredibly strong inter-regional growth – in other words locals, many of whom who have relocated here, just love holidaying in their SGBR backyard!
Visitors from Brisbane and south-east Queensland, particularly from the Sunshine Coast have also shown solid growth to the Capricorn region to the year ending December 2022. With direct BONZA flights from the Sunshine Coast to Rockhampton, we have a huge opportunity to entice more visitors from this market.
The Capricorn region accounts for 54.8% of domestic visitors, 56.3% of domestic visitor nights and 61% of domestic visitor expenditure to the greater Southern Great Barrier Reef destination which includes the three regions of Capricorn, Gladstone and Bundaberg.
Our international numbers are returning also, with 20,000 visitors recorded for the Capricorn region (50% of all international visitors to the greater SGBR) to the year ending December 2022. International visitors stay longer (average length of stay of 12.4 nights in the Capricorn region) but spend less per night than a domestic visitor. However, there is huge potential for us to grow our international visitor as we develop more tourism trade ready experiences and accommodation across our Capricorn region and greater Southern Great Barrier Reef destination. A record thirteen (13) Southern Great Barrier Reef booths (5 from Capricorn, 4 from Gladstone, 4 from Bundaberg) will be showcased at the upcoming annual ATE (Australian Tourism Exchange) to be held at the Gold Coast, at which domestic and international buyers meet with Australian sellers.
