Gold Coast Tourism Industry Report

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Gold Coast Tourism Industry Report

Year Ending June 2015

Dr Char-Lee McLennan Ms Alexandra Bec Ms Cassie Wardle

Professor Susanne Becken

Griffith Institute for Tourism Research Report No 9

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Gold Coast

Tourism Industry Report

Year Ending June 2015

Dr Char-Lee McLennan Ms Alexandra Bec Ms Cassie Wardle Professor Susanne Becken

Griffith Institute for Tourism Research Report No 9

November 2015

ISSN 2203-4862 (Print) ISSN 2203-4870 (Online) ISBN 978-1-922216-98-4

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ii Peer Reviewer

Prof Noel Scott, Griffith University

About this report:

This Gold Coast Year Ending June 2015 Tourism Industry Report provides a consistent collation and analysis of macro and micro tourism statistics, research and trends.

The ongoing bi-annual series of Gold Coast Financial-Year and Full-Year Tourism Industry Reports are commissioned by the Gold Coast Tourism Corporation and the City of Gold Coast, and prepared independently by the Griffith Institute for Tourism.

These Reports are produced for, and provided to, the Gold Coast tourism industry and general public as a reliable source of tourism intelligence.

Disclaimer:

Information is provided in good faith based on information sourced from government or reputable companies. By using this information you acknowledge that this information is provided by Griffith Institute for Tourism (GIFT), Gold Coast Tourism Corporation (GCT), and the City of Gold Coast (CoGC) to you without any responsibility on behalf of GIFT, GCT, CoGC. You agree to release and indemnify GIFT, GCT, CoGC for any loss or damage that you may suffer as a result of your reliance on this information. GIFT, GCT, CoGC does not represent or warrant that this information is correct, complete or suitable for the purpose for which you wish to use it. The information is provided to you on the basis that you will use your own skill and judgement, and make your own enquiries to independently evaluate, assess and verify the information’s correctness, completeness and usefulness to you before you rely on the information.

Disclaimer:

In January 2014, Tourism Research Australia (TRA) introduced mobile phone interviewing on the National Visitor Survey to supplement existing residential fixed line interviewing in order to provide better coverage of the Australian population. This has resulted in a break in series because the travel patterns of people interviewed on mobile phones differ from those of people interviewed on residential fixed lines. Consequently, readers of this report are advised that the domestic visitor results should be interpreted with caution. For further information please refer to: http://www.tra.gov.au/Fact-sheet-2014-Updates-to-the-IVS-NVS.html

Note: The International and National Visitor Surveys are conducted separately with their own methodologies; therefore care should be taken when considering their combined results.

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iii Organisations involved

Dr Char-Lee McLennan, Griffith University Ms Alexandra Bec, Griffith University Ms Cassie Wardle, Griffith University

Professor Susanne Becken, Griffith University

About Griffith University

Griffith University is a top ranking University based in South East Queensland, Australia. Griffith University hosts the Griffith Institute for Tourism, a world-leading institute for quality research into tourism. Through its activities and an external Advisory Board, the Institute links university-based researchers with the business sector and organisations, as well as local, state and federal government bodies. For more information, visit

www.griffith.edu.au/griffith-institute-tourism .

© Griffith Institute for Tourism, Griffith University 2015

This information may be copied or reproduced electronically and distributed to others without restriction, provided the Griffith Institute for Tourism (GIFT) is acknowledged as the source of information. Under no circumstances may a charge be made for this information without the express permission of GIFT, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.

GIFT Research Report Series URL:

www.griffith.edu.au/business-government/griffith-institute-tourism/publications/research-report-series

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1. Executive Summary

For the year ending June 2015:

Total Overnight and Daytrip Visitation

5%

In the year ending June 2015, total combined overnight and daytrip visitation increased 5% (up 558,000 visitors) to 11,617,000 visitors. The 5-year average growth rate for total visitors to the Gold Coast was stable.

Total Visitor Expenditure

7%

Total combined overnight and daytrip visitor expenditure to the Gold Coast decreased 7%, a result of declining spend by the domestic overnight and day trip markets.

Total Overnight Visitation

4%

Total international and domestic overnight visitation to the Gold Coast decreased by 4% (down 158,000 visitors) to 4,190,000 total overnight visitors. Of these total overnight visitors, 21% were international visitors.

Average Length of Stay

0.0 night

Average length of stay by total international and domestic overnight visitors on the Gold Coast was flat at 5.2 nights.

Domestic Overnight Visitation

6%

Domestic overnight visitors to the Gold Coast decreased by 6%, with their expenditure down 12%. Holiday visitation to the Gold Coast was the main source of the declines in visitation, down 19% (or 424,000 visitors) from the previous year. In contrast, those visiting friends and relatives increased 11% (up 106,000 visitors).

Domestic Daytrip Visitation

11%

Daytrip visitation to the Gold Coast increased 11%, with daytrip expenditure declining by 14%; a result driven by a decline in per visitor expenditure (down 22% or by $24 per visitor).

International Visitation

6%

International visitors to the Gold Coast increased 6%, with international nights up 1%. A 12% growth in expenditure per night, combined with increases in visitation drove an overall increase of 13% in international visitors’ expenditure in the region. Recent growth in the international market has been primarily from holiday visitors (up 6% or 36,000 visitors). Tourism on the Gold Coast – Key Highlights for the year ending June 2015

 International visitation to the Gold Coast increased by 6%, mainly driven by holiday visitors.  Expenditure by international visitors increased by 13%.

 China has had good growth during the period, recording the largest increase in visitor numbers (up 13% or 25,000 visitors).

 Business confidence in tourism remains high.

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Key Source Markets

China

New Zealand

The Gold Coast’s key international source market continues to be China, followed closely by New Zealand. China has had good growth during the period, recording the largest increase in visitor numbers (up 13% or 25,000 visitors). The New Zealand market remains strong, up 3% (or 5,000 visitors).

Gold Coast Airport Passenger Movements

2.1%

Total passenger movements at Gold Coast Airport (OOL) increased by 2.1%. Comparatively, total passenger movements at Brisbane Airport (BNE) increased by 1% for the 2015

financial year.

Total Hotel Revenue

9.1%

The total number of hotel rooms sold on the Gold Coast

increased 4.5%, with the average occupancy rate improving 2.8 percentage points. Average revenue per available room also increased 8.5%, resulting in total hotel revenue growing by 9.1% to reach $761.82 million.

Theme Park Revenue

1%

The Ardent Leisure Group and Village Roadshow, the two major operators of the Gold Coast’s theme parks, recorded 0.6% and 1.4% decrease in revenue, respectively, achieved by their theme park portfolios. In contrast, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, an important Gold Coast nature tourist attraction, reported a strong increase in revenue of 8.2%. Jointly, these three key attractions had a decline in revenue of 1%.

Business Confidence

High

According to Griffith University’s Business Confidence Index, business confidence in tourism on the Gold Coast remains high. City of Gold Coast also reported an increase in confidence in the Gold Coast economy amongst local businesses during the year.

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2. Gold Coast Travel Trends

2.1. Context

The last twelve months saw a general increase in consumer confidence globally (Nielsen, 2015), which coupled with the weakening Australian dollar generated positive impacts on both international and domestic tourism. Whilst business confidence in Australia is

somewhat lower than the previous year (Roy Morgan, 2015)1, confidence on the Gold Coast remains high, according to local research by both City of Gold Coast and Griffith University. Confidence has been boosted by ongoing strength in the Chinese market, including

additional visitation during Chinese New Year due to charter flights to Gold Coast Airport provided by China Southern and Cathay Pacific. Further growth in the Chinese market is expected in 2016, when Hong Kong Airlines begin operations to the Gold Coast with a series of charter flights and Jetstar begins direct flights between Wuhan and the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast tourism industry also benefitted from major events, including the Lions Rugby Tour, Cricket World Cup, Opera on the Beach, the Gold Coast Airport Marathon, amongst others. The next Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) taking place on the Gold Coast in 2016 is expected to bring substantial economic benefits, directly and longer term due to exposure of the Gold Coast tourism product portfolio.

Already strong investment into new infrastructure and products on the Gold Coast continues with the recent announcement that ASF Consortium has been invited to present detailed project plans for an integrated resort on a site between Sea World and the Gold Coast Fishermen’s Co-operative on the Spit.

The Mayor’s International Student Ambassador Program was launched in 2014, which is a new program designed to build relationships between the Gold Coast and international students studying here while promoting the city as a destination to live, study and visit. The initiative is a partnership between Study Gold Coast and the City of Gold Coast.

During the year ending June, the Gold Coast recorded above average annual rainfall, particularly in January and February when the region received an extra 571 mms above the long-term average of 373 mms in these two months (131 years). This was associated with Ex-Tropical Cyclone Marcia tracking past the Gold Coast in February. Reportedly, a key reason for the decline in domestic overnight and daytrip visitation was due to this above average rainfall during the peak season.

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8 2.2. Total visitation to the Gold Coast

In the year ending June 2015, total international and

domestic overnight visitation to the Gold Coast declined 4% to 4,190,000 visitors, of which 21% were international visitors. The five-year average growth rate of total international and domestic overnight visitors was flat. During the same period, daytrip visitation to the Gold Coast

increased by 11% to 7,427,000 trips, with the 5-year average remaining steady.

Total overnight visitors’ average length of stay was steady at 5.2 nights. While total visitor expenditure to the Gold Coast decreased 7% during the year ending June 2015, although the 5-year average growth rate of expenditure increased slightly by 1% (refer to Table 1). Figure 1 shows total visitor expenditure on the Gold Coast, revealing that the main source of income from tourism is derived from the domestic overnight market and the only growth in expenditure has been from the international market2.

Figure 1 Total visitor expenditure on the Gold Coast (Source: Tourism Research Australia).

2_{Note: Tourism Research Australia (TRA) only collects expenditure data at the national level. To estimate expenditure at the} state and regional level, TRA employs the Regional Expenditure Model (REX). However, the REX model only provides limited top-line information for regional areas and is not disaggregated by purpose of visit or source market.

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 5,000

Jun-11 Jun-12 Jun-13 Jun-14 Jun-15

To tal E xp e n d itu re ( $m ill io n ) Year ending

International Domestic daytrip Domestic Overnight

The number of total visitor nights spent in Brisbane and the Gold Coast is forecast to increase by 3.5% over the next 10 years, above the 2.7% average predicted for Queensland (Tourism Research Australia, 2014).

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9 2.3. Domestic Visitors

In the year ending June 2015, domestic overnight visitors3 to the Gold Coast decreased by 6% (or 209,000 visitors) to 3,329,000 visitors4. As a result of the decline in visitation, nights spent on the Gold Coast also fell 8% (or by 1,072,000 nights to 13,184,000 nights), with average length of stay falling by 2% to 4 nights (although the 5-year average was steady). This weakening in visitation, combined with reduced per visitor expenditure (down 7%

or by $61 per visitor), saw total domestic overnight expenditure on the Gold Coast decrease by 12% (or by $393 million) (refer to Table 2). In contrast, the five year average annual growth rate in domestic overnight expenditure showed a 1% increase for the Gold Coast region (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Gold Coast per visitor expenditure ($) by domestic overnight and daytrip visitors (TRA – Regional Expenditure Model).

Domestic holiday visitors were the driver of the declines in overnight domestic visitation to the Gold Coast during the period with a decline of 19% to 1,764,000 visitors (or by 424,000 visitors). Self-drive holidays accounted for much of the declines, falling by 252,000 visitors to 1,153,000 visitors (down 18%). In contrast, the Gold Coast’s visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market increased 11% to 1,068,000 visitors (or by 106,000 visitors) suggesting some substitution may be occurring. Indeed, domestic overnight leisure5 visitors’ use of

commercial accommodation declined 21% to 1,578,000 visitors (or by 411,000 visitors), while use of private accommodation increased 9% to 1,277,000 visitors (or by 109,000

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Note: The introduction of mobile phone interviewing on the National Visitor Survey in January 2014 has resulted in a break in series (please see ‘Disclaimer’ on page ii). However, further investigation of the trends comparing the periods following the break in series (i.e. the six months ending June 2014 with the six months ending June 2015) reveal that the declining trend is also occurring during this period (with overnight trips to the Gold Coast down 6% and nights down 9%).

4_{Note: The total sample size for overnight visitors to the Gold Coast is around 1,400. Once this sample is split by source} market and purpose of visit, the accuracy of the estimates is reduced. As there is considerable fluctuation in the time-series data where the sample size is small, only limited information is presented to avoid misrepresentation.

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Those visitors travelling for the purpose of a holiday or to visit friends and relatives 792 901 847 903 841 98 106 97 107 ₈₃ 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000

Jun-11 Jun-12 Jun-13 Jun-14 Jun-15

$ p er v isi to r Year ending

Expenditure per overnight visitor ($) Expenditure per daytrip visitor ($)

Gold Coast ranks as Australia’s No. 5 region in terms of domestic overnight visitors expenditure

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visitors). Domestic overnight business visitation to the Gold Coast increased 27% to 408,000 visitors (or by 87,000 visitors).

The key source markets of domestic overnight visitation to the Gold Coast for the year ending June 2015 were Brisbane (1,140,000 visitors), Sydney (503,000 visitors), Melbourne (288,000 visitors), North Coast New South Wales (177,000 visitors), the Darling Downs (135,000 visitors) and the Sunshine Coast (119,000 visitors). The Brisbane overnight market had good growth during the year ending June 2015 (up by 6% or 61,000 visitors), as did the Sydney market (up 9% or by 41,000 visitors).

However, the other key domestic overnight markets experienced large declines. The

Brisbane overnight market’s average length of stay on the Gold Coast was 2.3 nights (down 0.4 nights).

While there was solid growth in day trip visitation to the Gold Coast (up 11%, or 717,000 visitors), the 5-year average annual growth in daytrips to the Gold Coast was flat. Eighty-six percent of day trips occur for leisure. The Brisbane market is the key source market for day trips to the Gold Coast accounting for 5,093,000 day trips. Total day trip expenditure declined by 14% in the year ending June 2015, driven by a 22% decline in per visitor expenditure. The 5-year average day trip expenditure only fell by 3% (refer to Table 3).

2.4. International Visitors

In the year ending June 2015, the Gold Coast had strong growth in international visitation, with an increase of 6% (or 50,000 visitors) compared with the previous year. International visitors’ average length of stay on the Gold Coast decreased 5% to 10.1 nights, compared with the previous financial year. This has been a result of declines in more traditional longer-stay European markets (where average length of longer-stay fell 4.3 nights to 12.9 nights), being offset by growth in shorter-stay Chinese market (who stay 4.8 nights on average). Despite this, total international visitor nights in the region increased slightly by 1% (or 82,000 nights) to 8,681,000 nights.

International visitors to the Gold Coast increased their expenditure per night by 12% (or $14 per night), which – when combined with increases in visitation – generated an overall 13% increase in expenditure in the region. The result was an additional $131 million being spent in the Gold Coast region in the year ending June 2015. In total, the international market contributed $1,102 million directly to the Gold Coast economy for the year ending June 2015 (refer to Table 4).

During the reporting period, the key international source market to the Gold Coast was China, followed closely by New Zealand. China showed solid growth with an increase of 13% (or 25,000 visitors) to a total 212,000 visitors. Despite the growth in visitor numbers, China’s average length of stay in the region continues to remain the lowest of all

Top 5 Domestic Overnight Source Markets (by visitors): 1. Brisbane (1.14 million) 2. Sydney (503,000) 3. Melbourne (288,000) 4. North Coast NSW (177,000) 5. Darling Downs (135,000)

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international source markets at just 4.8 nights (refer to Table 5)6. This is primarily a result of an underrepresentation of Chinese education visitors (less than 2% of all Chinese visitors on the Gold Coast) when compared to 14% of Chinese visitors to Australia being education visitors. Education visitors typically stay far longer and spend much more while in Australia than leisure or business visitors.

New Zealand remains the key source market in terms of total visitor nights spent on the Gold Coast, amounting to a total of 1,581,000 nights in the region for the year ending June 2015. However, the average length of stay by New Zealand visitors declined 0.8 nights to 9.1 nights on average, which resulted in a decline of 6% in total nights spent on the Gold Coast (or by 104,000 nights). On a positive note, the UK market has continued to rebound,

demonstrating strong growth of 10% to reach 66,700 visitors (up 6,200 visitors).

Most international visitors to the Gold Coast visited for leisure, with 679,000 coming for a holiday and 129,000 visiting friends and relatives. The leisure market represents 95% of all international visitors to the Gold Coast. Recent growth has been mainly from the holiday market, which increased by 36,000 visitors (refer to Table 6). However, the education market has also experienced significant growth of 20% (or 3,500 visitors) to reach a total of 21,000. International visitors coming to the Gold Coast for other purposes (such as for employment, medical, for the possibility of immigration, for a funeral or for other reasons not identified) also increased, up 4,400 visitors to a total of 14,000 visitors in the year ending June 2015.

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Note: Due to the volatility in the visitor night estimates for a number of key source markets over time, only average length of stay is reported.

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3. Gold Coast Competitiveness Analysis

The competitiveness analysis compares the Gold Coast against a key comparative set of Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Tropical North Queensland, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.It is important to understand that some of the competitor destinations (in particular Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne) have a broader market base, including substantial business tourism segments.

In the year ending June 2015, the Gold Coast lost market share of the domestic overnight visitor market, receiving 4% of all domestic overnight visitors (down 0.5% points) and 4.2% of domestic visitor nights in Australia (down 0.6% points). Similarly, the Gold Coast lost market share of overnight visitors total trip expenditure, receiving 5.1% in the year ending June 2015 (down 0.9% points). This share of expenditure is less than the share received by Brisbane (6.2%), but greater than that of the Sunshine Coast (3.2%) and Tropical North Queensland (3.3%) (refer to Table 7).

In contrast to the Gold Coast, Melbourne improved its market share of visitor nights (up 0.3%). The other comparative regions had a slight decrease in market share of domestic visitor nights (between 1-2%). As a result of Melbourne capturing a larger share of nights, the region also increased its share of visitor expenditure more than any other comparative region (up 0.4% to 12.1%). All key comparative regions experience a steady or slight increase in market share of expenditure (<0.2% each).

Despite the declines in domestic market share, the Gold Coast maintains relatively high average trip expenditure at $841 per visitor, particularly when compared to other key regions. Only Tropical North Queensland and Perth have higher average trip expenditures within the comparative set. The Gold Coast holds a mid-range position for average

expenditure per visitor per night (refer to Table 8).

The Gold Coast has a 4.4% share of the domestic daytrip market in terms of visitor numbers and a 3.4% share in terms of trip expenditure. The Gold Coast’s average daytrip expenditure per visitor is $83, well below the $108 average of all daytrips in Australia (refer to Table 9). Comparatively, the Gold Coast has a strong and growing presence in the international market, with 13.1% of international visitors stopping over in the Gold Coast. However, only 3.7% of all international visitor nights and 5.0% of all international visitors’ expenditure is spent on the Gold Coast. This is low when compared to Capital Cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, but it is above the share achieved by the Sunshine Coast and Tropical North Queensland (refer to Table 10).

In the year ending June 2015, the Gold Coast’s market share of the international visitor nights decreased slightly by 0.3% to 3.7%. Comparatively, other destinations which also experienced a decline in market share included Sydney (down 0.3 percentage points to 28.6%) and the Sunshine Coast (down 0.2 percentage points to 1.1%). Tropical North Queensland and Perth maintained their previous market shares of 2.9% and 9.8%,

respectively. Alternatively, Brisbane (up 0.5 percentage points to 9.8%) and Melbourne (up 1.3 percentage points to 20.5%) increased their respective market shares. Overall, however, market shares are relatively stable.

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The Gold Coast’s average international visitors’ regional expenditure is $1,280, which is the second lowest per visitor expenditure in the comparative set, only ahead of the Sunshine Coast. This result is primarily due to the comparatively lower average length of stay of international visitors on the Gold Coast, particularly by the Chinese market. On a per night basis, the Gold Coast has high average expenditure when compared to other key regions at $127 per night, including Sydney ($102 per night) and Melbourne ($109 per night). Only Tropical North Queensland has higher average per night expenditure within the comparative set at $147 per night (refer to Table 11).

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4. Gold Coast Industry Indicators

4.1. Accommodation

For the year ending June 2015, a total of 4,471,041 hotel rooms were sold on the Gold Coast, representing an increase of 4.5% compared with the previous year. The revenue

generated as a result was $762 million (up 9.1%). The average revenue per available room (RevPAR) has increased by 8.5% during the year ending June 2015, reaching $122.4 (as shown in Figures 3).

Figure 3 Gold Coast hotel accommodation revenue per available room (RevPAR) by

month and total, year ending June 2015 (Source: Smith Travel Research7).

Comparisons between other key Australian and New Zealand destinations were available for the six months to June 2015. During this period, average occupancy rate improved from the same period in 2014, reaching 69.9% (up 3.9%). The month of January 2015 achieved an occupancy rate of 81.4%, which was below the 82.1% achieved in January 2014.

Occupancy levels at the Gold Coast in the six months to June 2015 were relatively low compared with other destinations in Australia and New Zealand. The average occupancy rates in Australia and New Zealand were 74.3% and 77.5%, respectively. Yet growth in occupancy and RevPAR during this period was above the national average (see Table 12).

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Note: Smith Travel Research (STR) in June 2015 collected information from 48, generally larger, hotels, motels and serviced apartments on the Gold Coast

111.4 112.8 118.2 134.0 131.0 149.2 172.0 119.1 109.9 121.3 96.9 _92.4 122.4 0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00 140.00 160.00 180.00 200.00

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Total

R e ve n u e p e r avai lab le r o o m ($)

Revenue per available room in hotels on the Gold Coast has grown by 8% since last year; more than twice as much as the Australian average growth.

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15 4.2. Gold Coast Airport

Total passenger movements at Gold Coast Airport (OOL) amounted to 5,865,437 for the year ended June 2015 (Figure 4). This represents an increase of 2.1% compared with the previous financial year. Domestic tourism passenger movements grew by 2.8%, whereas international passenger movements decreased by 1.6%. Domestic passengers at Gold Coast airport represent 84.9% of all passenger movements.

Figure 4 Gold Coast Airport domestic and international passenger movements per month, year ending June 2015 (Source: Gold Coast Airport).

The busiest international route servicing Gold Coast Airport continues to be the Auckland-Gold Coast city pair, with 143,350 passengers in the year ended June 2015. The second busiest route is Kuala Lumpur to Gold Coast, recording a total of 92,594 passengers, despite displaying a declining trend over the year (Figure 5). In December flights to Wellington and Queenstown were added, whilst March saw the addition of flights to Nadi. These three new services equated to an additional 25,146 passengers in the year ending June 2015.

Figure 5 International Airline Activity at Gold Coast Airport: City Pairs Data, year ending June 2015 (Source: BITRE, 2015). 428,747 402,351 427,587 475,169 411,566 455,967 473,859 356,089 399,009 416,049 366,883 365,998 78,536 73,245 69,006 73,958 69,329 84,570 87,505 70,607 73,316 71,671 65,550 68,870 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 Ju l Au g Se p Oct _Nov De c Jan _Feb _Mar Ap r Ma y Ju n GC A ir p o rt Pas sen ge rs Month

Total Domestic Passengers Total International Passengers

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000

Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15

Pas sen ge r n u m b e rs p e r m o n th

Month City-pair passenger arrivals at GC Airport (bitre)

Auckland Christchurch Kuala Lumpur Nadi Singapore Tokyo Queenstown Wellington

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By comparison, Brisbane Airport (BNE) recorded a growth rate of 1% in the year ending June 2015 (Figure 6), with total passenger movements reaching 22,024,845. Growth at Brisbane airport was mainly driven by international passenger movements (up 5.7%), while domestic passenger movements decreased very slightly (down by 0.2%). The domestic share of all passenger movements at Brisbane airport is 77%. Brisbane Airport is offering new direct Qantas services from Tokyo to Brisbane and All Nippon Airlines services to Sydney, offering the first “Star Alliance” option to Japan. Malaysian Airlines discontinued their services into Brisbane.

Figure 6 Brisbane Airport domestic and international passenger movements year ending June 2015 (Source: Brisbane Airport).

4.3. Theme Parks

Village Roadshow, The Ardent Leisure Group and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary each report on their performance for the financial year ending 2015. All three represent major tourist attractions on the Gold Coast.

Village Roadshow operates Sea World & Sea World Resort & Water Park, Warner Bros. Movie World and Wet ’n’ Wild on the Gold Coast. For the year ending June 2015, the three operations of Village Roadshow recorded a 1.4% decrease in income. Income in the year ending June 2015 reached a total of $278.5 million. Visitor numbers for the year ending June 2015 amounted to 5.2 million, representing a decline of 3.8% compared with the previous financial year (see Table 13).

The Ardent Leisure Group Theme Parks include Dreamworld, White Water World, and the SkyPoint Observation Deck and SkyPoint Climb. In June 2015, Dreamworld launched ABC kids world. For the second time, in 2014 Dreamworld was awarded Queensland's Best Major Tourist Attraction at the Queensland Tourism Awards and the third most popular tourist attraction at the annual Australian Tourism Awards. However, due to decreased per capita spending, overall revenue decreased slightly (by 0.6%) to $99.5 million. Visitor numbers increased by 11.7% to 2.28 million during the 2014/2015 financial year.

1,547,258 1,456,096 1,459,502 1,572,627 1,399,985 1,469,586 1,334,089 1,200,818 1,404,321 1,403,294 1,350,493 1,348,984 446,247 437,361 426,194 433,956 400,249 469,693 470,892 373,782 405,104 413,045 380,903 407,697 0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

B ri sb an e A ir p o rt Pas sen ge rs

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Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, which operates as a zoo and an educational wildlife park, is another key attraction for the Gold Coast. In the year ending June 2016, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary recorded an 8.2% increase in total revenue to $17.1 million. Attendance for this period also increased to 433,000, a growth of 6.4% (or 25,982 visitors). This was

accompanied by an overall increase of 1.8% in per guest expenditure. Growth in visitation was mainly due to four key markets, namely China (up 26%), New Zealand (up 21%), Sydney (up 18%) and Brisbane (up 11%).

4.4. Business Sentiment

The Griffith University’s Business Confidence Index, conducted by Spence Consulting (80-100 respondents out of a database of 300 businesses quarterly) gathers data on Gold Coast business sentiment on a quarterly basis. Business confidence in general has become more positive during the 2014/2015 financial year, reflecting increased confidence in the Gold Coast economy and property market. Confidence in the tourism market has marginally decreased towards the end of the financial year. However, the months of September to November 2014 displayed high confidence in the tourism market with 84% of respondents feeling positive or highly positive (see Table 14).

A City wide business survey conducted by the City of Gold Coast Council found that

business confidence has increased over the past two years, with 40% of businesses having confidence in the Gold Coast economy, compared with just 19% in 2013. In addition, 55% of businesses had a positive outlook for the future, compared with just 38% in 2013. There was a shift in focus from jobs, skills and cost of living being a key challenge for the Gold Coast in 2013, to infrastructure and public transport being the key challenge in 2015.

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5. Australian Travel Trends

5.1. Context

According to the ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Ratings, confidence amongst Australian consumers fell 2.2% in the year ending June 2015. Similarly, the Roy Morgan Business Confidence Index showed a decline of 7.6% during the same period. The weakening Australian Dollar fuelled confidence in tourism in Australia, with expectations that both the international and domestic markets would grow as Australia becomes relatively cheaper to other international destinations. During the 2014/2015 financial year, the AUD fell significantly against the USD and CNY (Figure 7). At the end of June 2015, the AUD was worth only US$0.77. Comparatively, the AUD was relatively more stable against the Euro and the British Pound, with the AUD increasing in strength against the NZD. Several Asian currencies (including Korea and Indonesia) weakened, possibly resulting in weaker demand for international outbound travel by these source markets.

Figure 7 Foreign exchange trends for the Australian dollar ( Source: www.oanda.com).

In addition, tourism to Australia is likely to have benefited from lower fuel costs in the fourth quarter of 2014. The drop in fuel prices fell from US$98 per barrel of crude oil (Brent) in July 2014 to just US$59 at the end of June 2015 will have been a positive factor, especially for

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 6/07/2014 _20/07/2014 3/08/2014 _17/08/2014 _31/08/2014 _14/09/2014 _28/09/2014 _12/10/2014 _26/10/2014 9/11/2014 _23/11/2014 7/12/2014 _21/12/2014 4/01/2015 _18/01/2015 1/02/2015 _15/02/2015 1/03/2015 _15/03/2015 _29/03/2015 _12/04/2015 _26/04/2015 _10/05/2015 _24/05/2015 7/06/2015 _21/06/2015 Exch an ge rate for C N Y (C h in a) Exch an ge r ate for USD , E UR an d N ZD Month

AUD/USD AUD/EUR AUD/NZD AUD/CNY

Key facts about Australia in the global tourism context (UNWTO - Tourism Barometer):  International arrivals to Australia have increased by 7.6% in 2014.

 Australia continues to rank 11th

worldwide in terms of international receipts.

 International receipts have increased by 9.0% in Australia in the year to August 2015, compared with the same period in the previous year (based on preliminary data).

 Australians spent US$26.3 billion overseas; they are the 9th

largest spenders on tourism globally.

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domestic drive tourism. Only a proportion of this decrease has been reflected in the cost of tourism transportation, with airlines being slow in adjusting their fuel surcharges.

The TTF Mastercard survey for the first quarter of 2015 shows that the tourism sector remains concerned about the exchange rate, however this concern is lower than previous surveys (Figure 8). Similar to the previous survey, another perceived impediment related to taxes charged on tourists and the quality of retail offering. Compared with previous surveys, there was also increased concern about Australia’s reputation as a desirable tourist

destination, including its reputation as a business and events destination. Labour shortages (skilled and unskilled) are also of concern.

Figure 8 TTF Mastercard survey: perceptions of business impediments for tourism (Quarter 1 of 2015).

5.2. Total Visitation in Australia

In the year ending June 2015, total international and domestic overnight visitors aged 15 years and over in Australia increased by 5% to 89.8 million visitors, of which 6% are

international visitors. Average length of stay of total overnight visitors remained steady at 6.1 nights, maintaining the 5-year average. Daytrip visitation by domestic Australian residents was increased slightly by 2% (or 3.9 million trips) to 169.1 million trips.

Total expenditure in Australia by international, domestic overnight and daytrip visitors increased by 5% to $96 billion in the year ending June 2015 (refer to Table 15). During the

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 % r e sp o n d e n ts re p o rting issue am o n gst to p t h re e _{2014 Q3} _{2015 Q1}

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same period the all-groups consumer price index increased by 1.5% (Reserve Bank of Australia, 2014), indicating that real total visitor expenditure in Australia had good growth.

5.3. Domestic Visitors

In the year ending June 2015, domestic overnight visitation increased 5%. The 5-year growth rate increased 3% per annum on average. Domestic visitors’ nights away from home also increased 6% on the previous year, driven by the increase in number of trips. Total domestic overnight expenditure in Australia increased 4% to $54.4 billion in the year ending June 2015, also a result of the increase in visitation with expenditure per visitor declining slightly (refer to Table 16). Domestic daytrip visitors in Australia increased by 2% during the period to 169.1 million trips. However, day trip visitors’ expenditure declined 2% to $108 per visitor (refer to Table 17).

5.4. International Visitors

In the year ending June 2015, international visitors to Australia increased by 7% (or 406,000 visitors) to 6,567,000 visitors. Visitor nights increased by 8% (up 17.9 million nights to 235.5 million nights), with the 5-year trend revealing a 4% average annual growth rate.

Total international visitor expenditure in Australia increased by 11% to $ 2,243 million in the year ending June 2015, driven by an increase in visitation, average length of stay and per visitor expenditure. The average length of stay increased by 2%, while expenditure on a per visitor basis increased 4% (or by $140 per visitor) (refer to Table 18).

As for the Gold Coast, the growth in international visitation to Australia was driven by growth in leisure visitors, which increased by 233,000 visitors to 4,728,000 visitors in the year ending June 2015 (up 5%). This increase in visitors delivered growth in total leisure nights (up 3%) and expenditure by leisure visitors in Australia (up 8%). However, the average length of stay for leisure visitors decreased by 2% to 26.5 nights.

The key international market for Australia in terms of visitor numbers continues to be New Zealand (1,154,000 visitors), followed by China (864,000 visitors), the United Kingdom (629,000 visitors) and the United States (544,000 visitors). China leads the market in terms of visitor nights with an average length of stay of 42.6 nights8, followed by the United Kingdom (who stay 41.4 nights on average).

Consequently, Chinese visitors had the highest total expenditure, spending $5.2 billion in Australia and contributing 23% to total international expenditure (compared with their share of arrivals of 13%).

The Chinese leisure market has been

growing strongly (up 21% or 107,300 visitors)

8

Note that the average length of stay of Chinese visitors on the Gold Coast is relatively less compared with other international markets.

Visitors from China continue to be an

important market for Australia. The increasing need and opportunity for differentiation this large market is increasingly recognised by governments and private sector trade organisations, tourism bureaus, and those providing market intelligence (e.g. Hurun Reports at http://up.hurun.net).

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and maintaining their average length of stay of 22.3 nights. The Chinese education market also displayed strong growth, increasing by 20% (19,000 visitors) and staying 161.3 nights on average. Education visitors represent 13% of the Chinese market in terms of visitors, but 50% of all Chinese visitor nights.

Besides China, other key growth markets in terms of visitor numbers for Australia in the year ending June 2015 include the United States (up 43,300 visitors), New Zealand (up 38,600 visitors) and India (up 34,400 visitors).

In the year ending June 2015, Queensland received 2,229,000 visitors (an increase of 8%). Collectively these visitors spent a total of $4.6 billion (an increase of 15%) in Queensland. Growth rates in terms of expenditure for Queensland were lower than Tasmania (up 27%), similar to Victoria (up 15%), New South Wales (up 10%) and Northern Territory (up 18%), but noticeable higher than South Australia (up 5%) and Western Australia (up 1%).

5.5. Outbound travel by Australians

In the year ending March 20159, outbound travel remained attractive for Australians. The number of all outbound trips increased 3% to 8,187,000 trips, below the five year average annual rate of 5%. Total nights during the period were flat, well below the five year average annual rate of 4%. This was a result of average length of stay overseas declining 0.7 nights to 19.7 nights. Total expenditure increased 3%, driven mainly by visitor numbers, as

expenditure per visitor was flat at $5,967 per trip (refer to Table 19).

9

Note: Reporting period is year ending March as Tourism Research Australia collects information on outbound travel by Australians, but the collection lags behind that of the overnight and daytrip results due to the duration of the domestic residents’ overseas trip.

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6. Global Travel Trends

The year ending June 2015 saw an increase in Global consumer confidence (Nielsen, 2015). According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the volume of international tourism arrivals reached 1,248 million globally in the year ending December 2014 (Figure 9). This represents an increase of 4.2% on the previous year10. The UNWTO forecasts that international tourism will grow at a rate between 3% and 4% in 2015.

Figure 9 Global tourism expenditure (US$ billion) for the last five years (Source: United Nations World Tourism Organisation, 2015).

Europe remains the largest tourist destination in terms of international tourism receipts11, with the region receiving 41% (US$511.6 billion) of global tourism expenditure in 2014 (Figure 10). The Asia Pacific region was the second largest receiver of tourism expenditure (30% of global expenditure with US$377.0 billion). Tourism receipts in Asia Pacific grew by 4.6% in 2014 compared with the previous year.

10_{Note: Global tourism data are provided by the UNWTO’s World Tourism Barometer.}

11

International tourism receipts are the receipts earned by a destination country from inbound tourism and cover all tourism receipts resulting from expenditure made by visitors from abroad. This concept includes receipts generated by overnight as well as by same-day trips by visitors from neighbouring countries. It excludes the receipts related to international transport

contracted by residents of other countries (e.g. ticket receipts from foreigners travelling with a national company). 966 1,082 1,117 1,198 1248 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,000 1,100 1,200 1,300 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Gl o b al t o u ri sm e xp e n d itu re (U S$Bi lli on )

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Figure 10 International tourism receipts in world regions ( Source: United Nations World Tourism Organisation, 2015).

The Chinese continued to be the world’s largest spender on tourism activity: in 2014 they spent US$164.9 billion on international tourism. Chinese expenditure grew by 28.2%

compared with the previous year. Travellers from the USA were the second largest spender with US$110.8 billion in 2014 (a growth of 5.8%) (Figure 11).

Figure 11 International tourism expenditure (outbound tourism) for key source countries for Australia (Source: United Nations World Tourism Organisation, 2015).

0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400

World Europe Asia and

the Pacific

Americas Africa Middle

East To u ri sm r e ce ip ts b y r e gi o n (US $ b ill io n )

Receipts 2013 (US$ billion) Receipts 2014 (US$ billion)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Tou ri st e xpe n d itu re (US $ b ill io n )

Expenditure 2013 (US$ billion) Expenditure 2014 (US$ billion)

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7. Tourism Insights: New Experiences for young Chinese travellers

To remain a leading Australian leisure tourism destination, the Gold Coast needs to develop new experiential products. Here we offer new insights into young Chinese travellers from a mixed method study that used focus groups and surveys to assist Gold Coast businesses with improving existing and developing new tourism experiences. Eight focus groups (7 with Chinese and 1 with mixed nationalities) were conducted with four to eight participants studying English language and undergraduate degree programs at Griffith University and The University of Queensland in Queensland, Australia. In addition, a survey was completed by 366 international students living and studying in Australia, with 80% being from China. Marketing to young Chinese travellers requires a different approach to more traditional markets. This is a mobile-savvy market with the majority having smartphones. As a result, they want to use Chinese mobile phone based applications, such as WeChat. They particularly use their smartphones to take photos to show friends and family what they are doing while in Australia and that they are safe and healthy. They also use their smartphones to get around and find locations. Indeed, they wanted to be able to navigate around

attractions using their smartphone and desired technology-based interpretation and

translation. Importantly, they want websites to use simple English words with lots of pictures. Young Chinese travellers are quite conservative, with only 10-20% being “adventure

seekers”. The market generally likes to stay within their comfort zone. Most students were interested in visiting or had visited the major cities or iconic tourist attractions (such as the Great Barrier Reef or Uluru) while in Australia. They chose these destinations because they are familiar ‘must see’ iconic attractions. Most did not want to visit regional destinations and the notion of getting out and dispersing in regional areas was not particularly attractive. To attract them to visit regional areas there needs to be an iconic or one-of-a-kind attraction. Most young Chinese travellers we talked to had visited the Gold Coast theme parks, but they did not know about other Gold Coast tourism products (e.g. surfing, jet boating, kayaking). They felt these products were outside their ‘comfort zone’. To feel comfortable about a new product, this market needs to be able to relate an activity to something they were already familiar with. For example, young Chinese travellers loved Australian koalas as they can relate these animals to their own panda bears. By drawing links with something they are familiar with, such as highlighting similarities between Chinese mythology and Australian Aboriginal dreamtime stories, a new product can be introduced in a more appealing way. Young Chinese travellers are often in Australia to study. Their leisure time is often spent shopping or “hanging out” with friends. They enjoy looking at the beach, but do not swim. There are significant cultural differences between young Australian and young Chinese travellers in their attitudes to the beach and water based activities. Fear of the open surf and avoidance of the sun are key concerns of young Chinese travellers and most cannot swim. So, they generally prefer more passive, rather than active, activities at the beach – such as observing the beauty and atmosphere. Regardless, the beach is very attractive to this market and is a key motivation for visiting the Gold Coast over other destinations.

For more information, contact: Dr Sarah Gardiner (s.gardiner@griffith.edu.au) or Professor Noel Scott (noel.scott@griffith.edu.au), or visit the Griffith Institute for Tourism website: https://www.griffith.edu.au/business-government/griffith-institute-tourism

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8. Data Tables

Table 1 Total Overnight and Daytrip Visitors on the Gold Coasta, year ending June 2011

to June 2015 Expenditure Year ending Total Overnight Visitors ('000)b Total Visitor Nights ('000) Average Length of Stay (nights) Daytrip Visitors ('000) Total Overnight and Daytrip

Visitors (‘000) ($million)Total c

per Visitor ($) Jun-11 4,109 21,113 5.1 7,348 11,457 4,201 367 Jun-12 4,098 21,687 5.3 7,041 11,139 4,639 416 Jun-13 4,432 22,471 5.1 7,401 11,833 4,674 395 Jun-14 4,349 22,855 5.3 6,710 11,059 4,882 441 Jun-15 4,190 21,866 5.2 7,427 11,617 4,521 389 12-month Real changed -159 -990 0.0 717 558 -361 -52 12-month Percentage change (%) -4 -4 -1 11 5 -7 -12 5-year average growth (%) 0 1 0 0 0 1 1

a. All figures relate to International Visitors and Australian residents aged 15 years and over.

b. Total international and domestic overnight visitors on the Gold Coast

c. Includes package expenditure.

d. Some figures may not sum due to rounding.

Source: Tourism Research Australia, International and National Visitor Surveys

Table 2 Domestic Overnight Visitors to the Gold Coasta, year ending June 2011 to June

2015 Expenditure Year ending Overnight Visitors ('000) Visitor Nights ('000) Average length of stay (nights) Including airfares and long distance transport costs ($million) per Visitor ($) Jun-11 3,363 13,362 4.0 2,663 792 Jun-12 3,363 13,789 4.1 3,031 901 Jun-13 3,664 14,790 4.0 3,104 847 Jun-14 3,538 14,256 4.0 3,194 903 Jun-15 3,329 13,184 4.0 2,801 841 12-month Real change -209 -1,072 -0.1 -393 -61 12-month Percentage change (%) -6 -8 -2 -12 -7 5-year average growth (%) 0 0 0 1 1

a. All figures relate to Australian residents aged 15 years and over.

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Table 3 Domestic Daytrip Visitors on the Gold Coasta, year ending June 2011 to June

2015

Year ending Visitors ('000)

Expenditure ($million) Expenditure per visitor ($) Jun-11 7,348 721 98 Jun-12 7,041 749 106 Jun-13 7,401 716 97 Jun-14 6,710 716 107 Jun-15 7,427 617 83 12-month Real change 717 -99 -24 12-month Percentage change (%) 11 -14 -22 5-year average growth (%) 0 -3 -3

Source: Tourism Research Australia, National Visitor Survey

Table 4 International Visitors on the Gold Coasta, year ending June 2011 to June 2015

Expenditure

Visitor Nights ('000) Average length of stay (nights) Including package ($million) per visitor ($) Jun-11 746 7,751 10.4 818 1,097 Jun-12 735 7,898 10.7 859 1,169 Jun-13 768 7,681 10.0 854 1,112 Jun-14 811 8,599 10.6 971 1,198 Jun-15 861 8,681 10.1 1,102 1,280 12-month Real change 50 82 -0.5 131 82 12-month Percentage change (%) 6 1 -5 13 7 5-year average growth (%) 3 2 -1 6 3

a. All figures relate to International Visitors aged 15 years and over.

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Table 5 International Visitors on the Gold Coast by country of residencea, year ending

June 2015 Country of residence Visitors ('000) 12-month real change (‘000) 12-month percentage change (%) 5-year average growth (%) Average length of stay (nights) China 212 25 13% 13 4.8 New Zealand 189 5 3% 1 8.4 United Kingdom 67 6 10% 1 12.6 Japan 48 -8 -14% -10 18.8 Other Europe 46 1 2% 0 15.4 Other Countries 44 7 19% 4 18.0 Singapore 34 -8 -18% 10 6.3 United States 31 4 14% 4 11.1 Malaysia 30 -1 -3% 2 5.6 Korea 26 7 35% -5 11.8 Germany 26 8 48% 9 9.3 India 21 0 -1% 15 10.0 Other Asia 20 1 6% -1 16.4 Hong Kong 18 -1 -7% 1 14.5 Taiwan 19 3 21% 5 19.0 Canada 16 0 -3% 1 15.2 Scandinavia 13 2 15% 2 11.8 Total 861 50 6% 3 10.1

Source: Tourism Research Australia, International Visitor Survey

Table 6 International Visitors on the Gold Coast by purposea, year ending June 2015

Purpose of visit Visitors ('000) 12-month real change (‘000) 12-month percentage change (%) 5-year average growth (%) Average length of stay (nights) Holiday 679 53 9% 0 6.4

Visiting friends &

relatives 129 -2 -2% 0 15.3

Business 32 -8 -23% -3 6.4

Education 21 0 -1% -2 115.5

Other 14 4 45% 0 26

Total 861 42 5% 0 10.6

a. All figures relate to International Visitors aged 15 years and over main reason for stopping over in the destination.

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Table 7 Domestic Overnight Visitors by comparative regionsa, year ending June 2015

Comparative regions Overnight visitors ('000) % of Visitors Visitor Nights ('000) % of Visitor Nights Trip Expenditure ($m) % of Total Trip Expenditure Gold Coast 3,434 4.2 13,875 4.5 3,015 5.5 Brisbane 5,166 6.3 16,983 5.5 3,166 5.8 Sunshine Coast 2,885 3.5 10,736 3.5 1,848 3.4 Tropical North Queensland 1,685 2.1 9,094 2.9 1,705 3.1 Sydney 8,527 10.5 23,417 7.6 6,063 11.1 Melbourne 7,787 9.6 22,502 7.3 6,525 12.0 Perth 3,306 4.1 11,149 3.6 2,790 5.1

a. All figures relate to Australian residents aged 15 years and over.

Source: Tourism Research Australia, National Visitors Survey

Table 8 Domestic Overnight Visitor expenditure by comparative regionsa, year ending

June 2015 Comparative regions Trip Expenditure ($m) Average Trip Expenditure per visitor Average expenditure per visitor per night Average length of stay (nights) Gold Coast 2,801 841 212 4.0 Brisbane 3,429 633 198 3.2 Sunshine Coast 1,801 627 167 3.7 Tropical North Queensland 1,836 1,021 204 5.0 Sydney 6,424 712 258 2.8 Melbourne 6,704 828 290 2.9 Perth 2,837 865 242 3.6

b. This is the average of only those who identified as having stayed in commercial accommodation.

Source: Tourism Research Australia, National Visitors Survey

Table 9 Domestic Daytrip visitors by comparative regions, ye ar ending June 2015a

Comparative regions Visitors ('000) % of Visitors Trip Expenditure ($m) % of Trip Expenditure Average Trip Expenditure per Visitor Gold Coast 6,874 4.2 603 3.4 88 Brisbane 11,182 6.8 1,180 6.6 106 Sunshine Coast 5,484 3.3 546 3.0 100

Tropical North Queensland 2,173 1.3 231 1.3 106

Sydney 18,937 11.5 2,010 11.2 106

Melbourne 16,403 10.0 1,830 10.2 112

Perth 11,068 6.7 1,088 6.1 98

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Table 10 International visitors by comparative regions, year ending June 2015a

Comparative regions Visitors ('000) % of Visitors Visitor Nights ('000) % of Visitor Nights Regional Expenditure ($m) % of Regional Expenditure Gold Coast 861 13.1 8,681 5.0 1,102 5.0 Brisbane 1,066 16.2 23,061 8.1 1,782 8.1 Sunshine Coast 257 3.9 2,519 0.9 194 0.9

Tropical North Queensland 759 11.6 6,801 4.5 1,000 4.5

Sydney 3,096 47.1 67,312 31.1 6,881 31.1

Melbourne 2,166 33.0 48,308 23.7 5,252 23.7

Perth 783 11.9 23,011 8.8 1,954 8.8

a. Estimates are for International Visitors aged 15 years and over

Source: Tourism Research Australia, International Visitors Survey

Table 11 International Visitors expenditure and average length of stay by comparative

regionsa, year ending June 2015

Comparative regions Regional Expenditure ($m) Average Regional Expenditure per visitor Average Regional expenditure per visitor per night Average length of stay (nights) Gold Coast 1,102 1,280 127 10.1 Brisbane 1,782 2,497 77 21.6 Sunshine Coast 194 754 77 9.8 Tropical North Queensland 1,000 1,318 147 9.0 Sydney 6,881 1,671 102 21.7 Melbourne 5,252 2,425 109 22.3 Perth 1,954 2,222 85 29.4

a. Estimates are for International Visitors aged 15 years and over

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Table 12 Comparison of accommodation occupancy and RevPAR six months to June 2015 compared with the six months to June 2014 for key destinations in Australia and New Zealand

Occupancy (%) Revenue per available room ($)

Six months to June 2015 % Change from previous year Six months to June 2015 % Change from previous year Australia 74.3 1.4 134.9 3.4 Gold Coast 69.9 3.9 118.7 8.0 Adelaide 76.5 -4.2 115.5 -4.6 Brisbane 72.8 -3.3 126.4 -5.6 Cairns 73.4 8.2 89.7 10.2 Canberra 72.5 6.1 118.0 6.8 Melbourne 81.6 1.4 152.8 3.8 Perth 81.0 -1.5 161.8 -2.9 Sydney 84.6 2.3 175.3 6.9 Darwin 64.2 -10.0 106.8 -12.7 Hobart 82.3 2.8 135.6 5.2 New Zealand 77.5 4.8 119.2 14.4 Auckland 81.6 0.0 132.4 12.4 Queenstown 76.1 8.4 123.1 16.8 Wellington 77.9 6.3 124.4 15.2

Table 13 Revenue and visitation at Ardent Leisure Group and Village Roadshow theme Parks and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Gold Coast (Source: Ardent Leisure Group and Village Roadshow Annual Reports full year ended June 2015)

Revenue ($) % Change from

previous year

Visitation % Change from

previous year

Theme Parks (Ardent) 99,571,000 -0.6 2,281,606 11.7%

Village Roadshow 278,500,000 -1.4 5,200,000 -3.8%

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

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Table 14 Gold Coast business sentiment for three 3-month periods in the 2014/2015 financial year (Source: Spence Consulting)

What is your level of confidence over the next three months regarding the …. ?

Aug-14 Nov-14 May-15 Aug-15

Gold Coast economy

generally Highly positive 6% 13% 3% 9%

Positive 54% 56% 47% 63%

Neutral 31% 24% 36% 21%

Negative 9% 6% 9% 4%

Highly negative 0% 1% 5% 3%

Gold Coast property

market Highly positive 6% 10% 63% 7%

Positive 62% 54% 25% 59%

Neutral 23% 35% 7% 28%

Gold Coast tourism

Positive 57% 57% 30% 57%

Neutral 29% 15% 9% 27%

Gold Coast retail

Positive 40% 53% 50% 43%

Neutral 37% 39% 13% 47%

Negative 23% 1% 3% 7%

Table 15 Total Overnight and Daytrip Visitors in Australiaa, year ending June 2011 to

June 2015 Year ending Total Overnight Visitors ('000)b Total Visitor nights ('000) Average length of stay Daytrip visitors ('000) Total expenditure in Australia ($000)c Expenditure per visitor ($)c Jun-11 76,347 456,438 6.0 156,287 79,407 341 Jun-12 78,807 477,004 6.1 168,847 85,547 345 Jun-13 80,982 500,765 6.2 167,857 88,758 357 Jun-14 85,257 512,613 6.0 165,237 91,589 366 Jun-15 89,796 548,932 6.1 169,108 96,011 371 12-month Real change 4,539 36,319 0 3,871 4,423 5 12-month Percentage change (%) 5 7 2 2 5 1 5-year average growth (%) 3 4 0 2 4 2

a. All figures relate to International Visitors and Australian residents aged 15 years and over.

b. Total international and domestic overnight visitors in Australia.

c. Includes international and domestic overnight visitor expenditure, as well as daytrip expenditure.

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Table 16 Domestic Overnight Visitors in Australiaa, year ending June 2011 to June 2015

Year ending Overnight trips (‘000) Nights (‘000) Average length of stay Total Expenditure in Australia ($000) Expenditure per visitor ($) Jun-11 70,977 266,235 3.8 46,588,920 656 Jun-12 73,369 278,348 3.8 49,826,532 679 Jun-13 75,268 286,056 3.8 51,442,035 683 Jun-14 79,096 294,980 3.7 53,297,712 674 Jun-15 83,229 313,383 3.8 55,425,704 666 12-month Real change 4,133 18,403 0.0 2,127,992 -8 12-month Percentage change (%) 5 6 1 4 -1 5-year average growth (%) 3 3 0 4 0

Source: Tourism Research Australia, National Visitor Survey

Table 17 Domestic Daytrip Visitors in Australiaa, year ending June 2011 to June 2015

Year ending Daytrips (‘000)

Expenditure ($000) Expenditure per visitor ($) Jun-11 156,287 15,157,562 97 Jun-12 168,847 17,544,380 104 Jun-13 167,857 18,065,154 108 Jun-14 165,237 18,230,931 110 Jun-15 169,108 18,282,986 108 12-month Real change 3,871 52,055 -2 12-month Percentage change (%) 2 0 -2 5 year annual average (%) 2 4 2

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Table 18 International Visitors to Australiaa, year ending June 2011 to June 2015

Visitor nights ('000) Average length of stay Total expenditure in Australia ($000) Expenditure per visitor ($) Jun-11 5,370 190,203 35.4 17,660 3,289 Jun-12 5,438 198,656 36.5 18,176 3,342 Jun-13 5,714 214,709 37.6 19,251 3,369 Jun-14 6,161 217,633 35.3 20,060 3,256 Jun-15 6,567 235,549 35.9 22,303 3,396 12-month Real change 406 17,916 1 2,243 140 12-month Percentage change (%) 7 8 2 11 4 5-year average growth (%) 4 4 0 5 1

Source: Tourism Research Australia, International Visitor Survey

Table 19 Outbound trips by Australian residentsa, nights and expenditure, year ending

March 2015 Year ending Outbound Trips ('000) Nights on trip ('000) Average length of stay Expenditure ($000) Expenditure per visitor ($) Mar-11 6,467 131,321 20.3 38,135,546 5,897 Mar-12 7,032 143,377 20.4 42,595,844 6,057 Mar-13 7,341 147,761 20.1 44,619,757 6,078 Mar-14 7,925 161,466 20.4 47,322,171 5,971 Mar-15 8,187 161,115 19.7 48,851,396 5,967 12-month Real change 262 -351 -0.7 1,529,225 -4 12-month Percentage change (%) 3 0 -3 3 0 5-year average growth (%) 5 4 -1 5 0

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9. Data Sources and Timeline of Release:

Source Data/Publication Release

Frequency BITRE

Transport Statistics

International Airline Activity - Time Series - City Pairs Data

http://www.bitre.gov.au/publications/ongoing/international_airline_activity-time_series.aspx Monthly Brisbane Airport Passenger Statistics http://www.bne.com.au/corporate/media-centre/passenger-statistics Monthly Bureau of Meteorology

Rainfall Data (Southport Station)

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/ Monthly

Deloitte Access Economics

Tourism and Hotel Market Outlook

http://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/tourism-hotel-outlook.html

Biannual Gold Coast

Airport

Gold Coast Airport Passengers

http://goldcoastairport.com.au/corporate/statistics/ Monthly

City of Gold

Coast 2015 Citywide Business Survey Annual

Nielsen Consumer Confidence Q1/2015 http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/nielsenglobal/apac/docs/reports/2015/nielsen-global-consumer-confidence-report-q1-2015.pdf Quarterly Smith Travel

Research Hotel Survey, Gold Coast (Gold Coast Tourism) Quarterly

Spence

Consulting Griffith University’s Business Confidence Index Quarterly

Tourism Australia

Tourism Australia Aviation Quarterly Market Updates

http://www.tourism.australia.com/statistics/8696.aspx Quarterly Tourism Research Australia Regional Forecasts http://www.tra.gov.au/publications-list-State-tourism-forecasts-2014-2014.html Annual Tourism Research Australia Tourism Forecasts http://www.tra.gov.au/research/State-tourism-forecasts-2014-2014.html Biannual Tourism Research Australia

Australian Residents’ outbound trips – NVS release

http://www.tra.gov.au/statistics/Australians-travelling-overseas.html Quarterly

TRA/GCCC

Domestic Overnight Tourism – NVS release Overnight trips in Australia by residents

http://www.tra.gov.au/research/domestic-travel-by-australians.html

Quarterly

TRA/GCCC Daytrip Tourism – NVS release Quarterly

TRA/GCCC International Tourism – IVS release Quarterly

Tourism and Transport Forum

Mastercard Sentiment Survey

http://www.ttf.org.au/Content/sentimentsurvey.aspx Quarterly

Gold Coast Tourism Industry Report