A surge in US visitors has been linked to new services from US carriers like Delta. Photo: Brisbane Airport
Winter in Japan may be cold but the country is proving to be a hot destination for Queensland, according to Brisbane Airport.
The airport says Japan is the tourism state’s fastest-growing international market both ways.
Its figures reveal a 255% increase in outbound visits to Japan compared to 2019 numbers; every day on average, for the 12 months up to February, 494 Australians flew out of Brisbane for Japan. That makes Japan the fourth biggest outbound visitor market (behind New Zealand, UK/Europe, and Indonesia) and overtaking USA and Fiji.
There was also a 124% rise in Japanese arrivals for the same time period, averaging 236 visitors over 12 months to February. Japan is now the state’s fifth biggest inbound market behind New Zealand, UK/Europe, USA and China.
“The facts back up what your Instagram feed is showing — Japan is a hot destination for Queenslanders right now but we’re also seeing strong growth in the number of Japanese visitors coming to Queensland,” says Ryan Both, the airport’s Aviation Executive General Manager.
US NUMBERS GROWING
Its figures also reveal that the US is now Queensland’s third-largest inbound visitor market due to increased services with North America.
In the last year, American and Delta joined United, Qantas and Air Canada airlines in boosting their trans-Pacific services.
“The rise of the US to our third-largest inbound market highlights the growing appeal of Queensland to American travellers, helped by cultural icons like Bluey and growing global awareness ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Both says.
The airport says the findings have been sourced from the latest passenger arrival card data which was released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Brisbane Airport (up 12%) also overtook Melbourne Airport (up 8%) and Sydney Airport (up 2%) for international recovery in February 2025 vs February 2019.
Most international passengers through Brisbane are travelling for a holiday (49%) while 31% are visiting friends/relatives and 12% are on business.
NEW ZEALAND STILL TOPS
New Zealand remains Brisbane’s biggest international market with 1.3 million passengers travelling across the ditch annually.
There is an exact 50-50 split of inbound Kiwis and outbound Australians, the airport says; the 918 inbound visitors to Brisbane from NZ was matched with 918 visitors to NZ from Brisbane.
“Travel between Brisbane and New Zealand remains our number one market, proving that visiting the neighbours is always a top choice for both Kiwis and Queenslanders,” Both says.
