Tourism Australia’s industry briefing in Cairns yesterday showed international confidence in travel was continuing to grow from 50% in March to 66% in June as the situation in the Middle East conflict becomes the new normal.
Managing Director Robin Mack told the Tropical North Queensland tourism industry that most markets were back to normal levels after the slowing of growth in April and May. Visitors to Australia were up 9.5% to 9.2 million year-on-year (YoY) to May 2026 and expenditure up 16% to $57 billion.
The UK and Europe were the most affected markets with the UK plunging by 22% in April after strong growth of 34% in December 2025 with The Ashes tour. North America is returning with the US market up 4% in May.
Asia continued to perform well thanks to its proximity and perception of Australia as a safe destination. Chinese free and independent travellers are returning with it now the second fastest growing market across the country after New Zealand for leisure spend.
Forward aviation schedules for Australia are forecast to have 3% more inbound seats YoY, while booking forecasts are starting to show flat growth after dipping off the back of good growth last year.
The Middle East conflict was preceded by strong growth with TTNQ’s intensive international campaigns helping to drive record Tropical North Queensland international expenditure of $1.3 billion in the year to March 2026. This 27.6% jump in expenditure was helped by a 32.1% increase in international visitor nights to 6.2 million with a spend per visitor of $1976.
This is the last year of Federal funding for international marketing and while TTNQ is continuing to develop a legacy from the additional spend, it will be harder to maintain our market presence. In the meantime, we are continuing to make inroads into boosting the region’s shoulder seasons in our destination quest for year-round visitation.
The Reef School Excursion Rebate Program which has now been launched by the Federal Government is a good opportunity to fill softer seasons. This can be used in parallel with the Queensland program, but not for the same trip.
Cruise season begins in October through to March giving operators the opportunity to boost numbers with tours targeting this sector. TTNQ will continue to offer educational opportunities about cruise with a future webinar after our successful Cruise conference earlier this year connected members with ground handlers looking for new tours.
The recently announced T20 Gold Clash to be held in Cairns on 22 November is timed well to bring a boost to one of our quieter months with cricket, NRL and AFL fans given a great incentive to head north for the inaugural celebrity clash.
Soon after Cairns will host the PADI AmbassaDiver Summit from 30 November to 5 December which will bring 14 AmbassaDivers with strong social media followings to the Great Barrier Reef attracting global publicity.
This is TTNQ’s third global reef initiative supported by the Australian Government and our last opportunity for a global campaign drawing attention to the Great Barrier Reef. It is fitting that it occurs in the year that UNESCO has removed our World Heritage area from its ‘in danger’ list.
Cheers,
Mark Olsen
Chief Executive Officer