Asian visitors enable Brisbane to post record figures

A record number of Asian visitors has been a big factor in Brisbane, Australia, claiming all-time highs in terms of international visitation and expenditure. Lord Mayor of the Queensland capital, Adrian Schrinner said the latest International Visitor Survey from Tourism Research Australia revealed visitor numbers from Asia to Brisbane had climbed 5.5% to a record 605,000 in the year to March 2019. Visitor numbers from China were up 6.2% to a record 261,000, while Korean visitors climbed 9.8% to 41,000 and Indian visitors were up 11.8% to an all-time high of 39,000, according to the new figures. “Taiwan has also become a juggernaut with this market and is now our fifth largest international tourism market, with visitor numbers growing 16.3% to 60,000 over the year,” the Lord Mayor noted. “Asian tourists are increasingly attracted to Brisbane’s lifestyle offerings through growth in new hotels, precincts, restaurants and venues,” he added. “Direct flights from China and Japan and growth in aviation capacity from and through destinations such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore over the years have contributed to the results. The new AirAsia direct flights from Bangkok to Brisbane from the end of June is also likely to open up a new market. Lord Mayor Schrinner added that Brisbane’s 1.4m international visitors spent an all-time high of AUD$2.8bn (US$1.92bn) over the year to March. Traditional markets are also performing well, albeit less spectacularly, with New Zealand visitors up 3.2% to 221,000, the UK steady at 128,000 and US visitor numbers climbing 5.9% to reach a record high of 105,000. The Qantas announcement of new direct Dreamliner flights from San Francisco and Chicago next year should also keep the number of American visitors flowing. Drilling down into the figures, the business visitors sub-set has shown a rise of 3.6% to 133,000 for the year to March.