Townsville Enterprise has today unveiled its latest marketing results, revealing growth that positions Townsville North Queensland as one of Australia’s leading regional tourism success stories. The figures underscore the organisation’s pivotal role in fuelling the region’s visitor economy through targeted marketing, strategic advocacy, and powerful industry partnerships.
For 2024, Townsville North Queensland recorded an impressive 11.7% increase in visitation — outperforming neighbouring tourism powerhouses Cairns and the Whitsundays, which experienced declines of -5.38% and -2.07% respectively. These results not only signal Townsville’s rising appeal as a destination of choice but also highlight the tangible impact of Townsville Enterprise’s work in driving demand and delivering economic value for the region.
Despite significant disruption to the sector earlier this year from flooding impacts, the region’s peak visitor season has started a strong rebound, with marketing results giving a much-needed boost of confidence to the tourism industry.
Townsville Enterprise CEO, Claudia Brumme-Smith, said the benefits of recent marketing and advocacy efforts were being felt across the local tourism industry.
“In just the past month, more than 30,000 additional airline seats have been secured between Melbourne, Brisbane and Townsville for the next 12 months — a significant boost to the region’s future connectivity and economic potential,” said Ms Brumme-Smith.
“Townsville North Queensland remains one of the fastest-growing tourism destinations in the country, with 25% of that growth directly attributed to Townsville Enterprise’s campaign efforts. And while that figure is significant, we know the true impact is even greater — with a broader halo effect of bookings and visitation driven by our advertising that simply can’t be fully measured.”
“Our campaign activity has driven more than $27M in additional visitor expenditure and our brand awareness for Townsville North Queensland has climbed by an impressive 166%.”
“When you consider that our funding as destination management and marketing body is up to 180% less than competing destinations across the State, these results are phenomenal and directly benefiting an industry that supports more than 9,000 local jobs.”
“We’ve also seen an uplift in the quality of our tourism experiences, supported by targeted industry capability and training programs. This year we saw a 15% increase in our tourism operators who are recognised as "Best of Queensland" Product – an industry benchmark that demonstrates our operators are punching above their weight.”
“These outcomes are not just numbers — they represent real jobs, real bookings and real business for our region. We are delivering a return on investment that demonstrates the power of sustained, strategic tourism promotion.”
CEO of The Ville Resort-Casino and Ardo, Tim Richardson, said the campaign results reinforce industry confidence in Townsville’s future as a tourism destination.
“Between The Ville and Ardo, we employ over 1,000 staff, making us one of Townsville’s largest employers. With the Morris Group investing more than $450 million in luxury tourism across North Queensland, it's critical to see that investment matched with strong marketing outcomes,” said Mr Richardson.
“Townsville Enterprise continues to deliver, and we’re encouraged by the momentum being generated through their campaigns. The addition of new flight capacity is a welcome outcome, and we believe strongly in the direction and results they are achieving.”
“Campaigns that work with business to highlight the region have such great traction with new tourists who simply are amazed at what Townsville has to offer”.
Jessica Lascheit of The Robert Towns Motel said continued promotion of the region was essential to growing appeal and visitation.
“We cannot underestimate the power of destination marketing — tourism is an incredibly competitive space, and for Townsville to be on the radar of potential travellers, people first need to hear about us,” Ms Lascheit said.
“We first visited Townsville on holiday about three years ago and were amazed by the tourism potential that felt untapped. Now, we proudly call Townsville home and are thrilled to see a stronger focus on growing this region’s tourism offering.”
“We love the work that Townsville Enterprise is doing to promote this beautiful part of the world. Whether you’re a large operator or a small family-run business, the benefits flow right across the sector. It’s about promoting the destination first — and that’s what drives real growth.”
Townsville Acting Mayor Ann-Maree Greaney reinforced the critical role of tourism in shaping the region’s liveability and future growth.
“It is well documented that a great place to visit is also a great place to live - and time and time again, and especially more recently we’ve seen visitors fall in love with our city and choose to make the move permanent,” Cr Greaney said.
“That’s why Council continues to invest in our partners, destination marketing and the growth of our regional brand. With around $40 billion in investment expected across our region over the next decade, we’ll need almost 20,000 additional workers to realise that potential in the next 5 years.
“Driving visitation and building awareness of what Townsville North Queensland has to offer is essential to attracting new talent and filling workforce needs. New flight capacity and enhancing our destination brand will go a long way in supporting that goal.”
