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Brisbane Airport has surpassed Melbourne and Sydney in the recovery of international travel since 2019, with a surge in visitors from Japan and increased flight capacity into the US driving growth.
International passenger numbers at Brisbane Airport in February this year were up 12 per cent compared with February 2019, which compares with Melbourne’s 8 per cent increase and Sydney’s 2 per cent, marking a strong rebound in airport traffic for the facility since the pandemic.
While New Zealand remains Brisbane’s biggest international market, with 1.3 million passengers per year travelling across the ditch, Japan has become one of the airport’s fastest growing markets in recent years.
Brisbane Airport reports a 124 per cent increase in Japanese visitors flying into Brisbane since 2019, with an average of 236 Japanese visitors arriving through the airport over the 12 months to February.
However, the number of Queenslanders heading to Japan has grown at more than twice that rate with a 255 per cent increase in outbound travel compared with 2019.
Brisbane Airport says an average of 494 Australian residents travelled through Brisbane Airport for Japan over the past year, making the country its fourth-biggest outbound market behind New Zealand, UK/Europe and Indonesia, and overtaking the US and Fiji.
"The facts back up what your Instagram feed is already showing, Japan is a hot destination for Queenslanders right now,” says Ryan Both, the aviation executive general manager at Brisbane Airport.
“But we're also seeing strong growth in the number of Japanese visitors coming to Queensland, which is great news for tourism operators in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Great Barrier Reef. We know when Brisbane Airport is busy, Queensland is thriving.”
While New Zealand and the UK/Europe remain the biggest inbound markets for Brisbane, the US now sits in third spot just above China, with the airport noting that improved flight connections to North America have driven growth.
Over the past year, flights by American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have joined carriers United Airlines, Qantas and Air Canada in boosting travel across the Pacific.
“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,” says Both.
The bulk of international passengers passing through Brisbane Airport are travelling for a holiday, accounting for 49 per cent of passengers, while 31 per cent are visiting friends and relatives, and 12 per cent are on business.
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