Noosa makes tourist mark

INTERNATIONAL travellers continue to show their love for Noosa with latest figures showing Noosa’s overseas visitor growth is twice that of the State.
International Visitor Survey results released by Tourism Research Australia show a 12.6 per cent increase in visitors to the Noosa region, with 137,431 visiting in the year to September 2015.
Overseas visitors to the Sunshine Coast, including Noosa, rose 4.5 per cent and across Queensland the increase was 6.3 per cent, with about 54 per cent of all international visitors to the Sunshine Coast coming to Noosa.
Tourism Noosa CEO Damien Massingham said this was Noosa’s fifth consecutive quarter of growth.
“This is great news for all tourism operators and other businesses in Noosa, particularly coming into the busiest time of the year for Christmas, as it means the industry is seeing a strong and sustained impact from overseas visitors continuing right through the year,” Mr Massingham said.
“Travellers from overseas are increasingly being drawn to the Noosa region’s natural beauty and are discovering the incredible range of visitor experiences on our doorstep.
“With the recent launch of our Noosa Country Drive website, which has more than 100 touring experiences throughout the Noosa hinterland, we look forward to visitors spending even more time exploring when they’re here.”
The major markets of UK, USA and Germany all recorded growth in the year, with UK visitor numbers increasing 33 per cent to 38,000 (also the fifth consecutive quarter of growth), Germany increasing 21 per cent to 20,600 and the USA increasing 16 per cent to 7300.
Canada, Scandinavia and France also continue to show strong growth as emerging markets and between them now make up about one-sixth of total international visitors to Noosa.
International visitor nights also rose, with particularly strong increases from the high-spending markets of the UK, which increased 20.5 per cent, and the USA which rose 39 per cent.
“This sustained international growth is testament to the work Tourism Noosa has been doing with our international partners for some years,” Mr Massingham said.
“With the launch in September of our Noosa Global Market Strategy, which maps our international direction over the coming years, we will continue to broaden our profile overseas and target areas of potential growth.
“We will have some further exciting announcements in the New Year on the international front to benefit all businesses throughout Noosa.”