Gold Coast remains firm favourite

New figures show that people are still enjoying the Gold Coast of Australia.The latest Tourism Research Australia’s International Visitor Survey revealed a five per cent increase in overseas visitors to the region over the past year up to June – despite a slight fall in travellers to Queensland as a whole.

Gold Coast Tourism chief executive officer, Martin Winter, stressed that the economic downturn had meant the region had worked extra hard to appeal to holidaymakers.

He added: “The Gold Coast really is Australia’s number one tourism destination, our ability to attract such an increase in international visitors, well above state and national trends, is a credit.”

The survey showed a five per cent rise in Japanese visitors to the Coast, while there was an 18 per cent increase in visitors from the UK – a possible sign that many travellers are shopping around for the best cheap flights to Australia.

Australia’s Gold Coast runs from the Queensland capital city of Brisbane to the New South Wales border.