Record international visitors flock to River City, led by Japanese tourists

The German couple, who came to the town to spend Christmas with their son who has been living here for 20 years, said they did not plan to go outside of Brisbane.

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After New Zealand, tourists from China and the USA formed the second largest group with 128,000 and 111,000 people respectively.

There was an influx of 88,000 visitors from the UK, an increase of 25.5 percent compared to last year.

International visitors spent a record $3.3 billion, above the $9.9 billion spent by more than 7 million domestic visitors.

Fraser said Festa Italiana at Howard Smith Wharves and the Story Bridge Adventure Climb, which his group also operates, are big attractions for the city.

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“[The bridge climb] There’s really great visibility for visitors to the city. The views there; “You see everything from the bay to the Glass House Mountains,” he said.

While the cost of living is still an issue, Fraser said most of his clients are changing their habits rather than cutting out their spending altogether.

He said some tourists have found that spending money here provides a good return due to the strong conversion rate of their currency into Australian dollars.

“It seemed really affordable for them to enjoy food and drink, which is very high quality in Queensland. And I think that’s probably a big reason why some of the tourism spending has been so strong,” he said.

He also noticed more tourists traveling on CityCat and added: “If we continue to focus on activating the river, it will be a tourism superpower for us.”

The tourism victory follows Montague Road in South Brisbane and the West End. Ranked among the coolest streets in the world.

time out magazine noted the presence of Queensland Ballet, Queensland Theater Company, Gallery of Modern Art, the strip’s thriving food scene, wellness areas and boutique shops.