TWEED shire has bucked a national downfall in tourist numbers to clear the half million mark in domestic visitor numbers for the first time, with an extra 100,000 domestic guests in the 12 months leading up to March than the year prior.

Figures released by Tourism Research Australia estimate the shire hosted just over 530,000 domestic guests in that period, as well as 24,000 international guests, one of our best results on record.

Destination Tweed CEO Phil Villiers said he was “pleased and encouraged” by the figures, particularly in the light of the natural disasters that plagued the summer season, and the high value of the Australian dollar.

While Queenslanders were the worst hit by the natural disasters, they also made up almost 45% of domestic visitors to the Northern Rivers region.

“These numbers are especially pleasing when you consider the challenges faced by our tourism operators during this time frame,” Mr Villiers said.

“The region was almost cut off in January and our key target markets effectively stopped travelling during what should have been our busiest time of the year.”

He said the high Aussie dollar acted like a double-edged sword, discouraging international visitors from travelling to Australia and making it more attractive for Australians to travel overseas, a trend he and the Destination Tweed team attacked with an intense and focussed marketing strategy.

“We’ve partnered with Northern Rivers Tourism in several key marketing campaigns and have achieved excellent media coverage through an aggressive public relations strategy,” Mr Villiers said.

“We’ve also targeted the international market, bringing numerous groups of travel agents and wholesalers in to tour the region in recent years.

“It’s very gratifying to see those efforts rewarded in these latest figures.”

Mr Villiers said that despite his excitement at the influx of visitors, he was not popping the champagne or planning celebrations.

He said figures from the retail sector indicated consumers were spending less and less and that could transfer into travel-related spending.

“The Aussie dollar has hit record highs yet again in recent days which will have a direct impact on the tourism sector,” he said.

Despite more visitors hitting the region, the average length of their stay didn’t increase dramatically.

International visitors stayed an average of 12 nights, up from the previous period of 11.45 nights, while domestic stays remained steady, averaging just over three nights.

“It’s vital that we keep up the hard work of promoting the region and developing new tourism experiences in order to build on our current momentum,” Mr Villiers said.

“It’s vital that we keep up the hard work to build on our current momentum.”