Impressive new tourism data has revealed the Gold Coast remains the number one destination in Queensland for holidaymakers.
According to Tourism Research Australia, a whopping 14.4 million visitors visited the glitter strip last year, driving the value of the city’s visitor economy to a staggering $8.9 billion.
While the Gold Coast remains the top domestic holiday market in the sunshine state, the numbers reveal the city is also the third most popular travel spot in the whole country.
International expenditure also reached record highs in 2025, with 682,000 overseas travellers spending a total of $1.5 billion on the Gold Coast, which is 26% more than the year prior.
International visitors also stayed longer, amassing a record 10.3 million visitor nights through 2025.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the results demonstrated the city’s continued growth as a global destination of choice.
“Few cities can boast an almost $9 billion visitor economy, and these numbers show that our world class experiences, events and natural beauty continue to draw visitors to the Gold Coast,” Mayor Tom Tate said.
“As a city we’ve focused on securing one-off global events that put the Gold Coast on the map, we’ve invested in new tourism offerings and strengthened aviation partnerships, and it’s paying off.”
International markets saw massive growth, with visitation from the UK surging 43% to 75,000, while total visitor nights from the rest of Europe more than doubled.
The Chinese market continued to rebound strongly with 72,000 visitors in 2025, a growth of 37% year on year.
New Zealand remains the Gold Coast’s key international market with 217,000 Kiwis crossing the ditch to visit the city last year.
“These exceptional domestic and international results show us that our strategy is working – more people are choosing the Gold Coast, they’re staying longer than ever before, and they’re spending record amounts on our tourism experiences,” Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn said.
“It’s a testament to our city’s ability to consistently reinvent itself and a willingness to invest in experiences that set us apart from the rest of the country.
“We look forward to building on this success with some very exciting international events heading to the Gold Coast in 2026″.
