A German couple in town to spend Christmas with their son, who has lived here for 20 years, said they were not planning to travel outside Brisbane.
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After New Zealand, tourists from China and the US formed the next largest groups at 128,000 and 111,000 people respectively.
There was a surge of 88,000 visitors from the United Kingdom, up 25.5 per cent on last year.
International visitors spent a record $3.3 billion, which was on top of the $9.9 billion spent by more than 7 million domestic visitors.
Fraser said Festa Italiana, held at Howard Smith Wharves, and the Story Bridge Adventure Climb, which his group also operates, were huge attractions for the city.
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“[The bridge climb] has got a really great visibility for visitors coming to the city. The views up there – you see everything from the bay to the Glass House Mountains,” he said.
While the cost of living was still an issue, Fraser said many of his customers had changed their habits rather than cut their spending entirely.
He said some tourists found that because of their home currency’s strong conversion rate to the Australian dollar, spending money here had a good return.
“Enjoying the food and the drink – which is of such high quality here in Queensland – for them, it seemed really affordable. And I think that’s probably a big reason why some of the tourism spends have been so strong,” he said.
He also noticed more tourists travelling on the CityCat, adding: “If we keep the focus on activating the river, that will be a superpower for us in tourism.”
The Brisbane River is a tourism superpower, according to Artemis chief Luke Fraser.Credit: Brittney Deguara
The tourism triumph comes after Montague Road in South Brisbane and West End was named among the world’s coolest streets.
Time Out magazine noted the presence of Queensland Ballet, Queensland Theatre Company, the Gallery of Modern Art, the strip’s thriving food scene, wellness spaces, and boutique shops.
