Melbourne’s interstate tourism sector sets pace for Australia

News
Published: 4 August 2025

New data from Tourism Research Australia shows that Melbourne is Australia’s playground.

For the March 2025 quarter, Melbourne was the national leader for:

  • How much interstate visitors spent in an Australian city,
  • The number of trips from interstate visitors took to an Australian city, and
  • The number of nights interstate visitors stayed in an Australian city.

Domestic overnight visitors from around Australia spent $3.2 billion in Melbourne between January and March 2025. This was well ahead of Sydney at $2.9 billion and Brisbane at $2 billion.

Victoria’s capital hosted 3.5 million domestic overnight trips during the March 2025 quarter.  Melbourne beat Sydney (3.2 million) and Brisbane (2.3 million).

Domestic visitors stayed a total of 9.6 million nights in the city to enjoy its vibrant arts scene, second-to-none coffee culture and blockbuster calendar of major events such as:

  • the Australian Open
  • the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix
  • NGV’s Yayoi Kusama exhibition.

The numbers

Graph showing Domestic overnight visitor spend in Australian cities. Melbourne $3.2 billion, Sydney $2.9 billion and Brisbane $2.0 billionBar chart showing Domestic overnight trips to Australian cities. Melbourne 3.5 million, Sydney 3.2 million and Brisbane 2.3 million. Bar chart showing domestic visitor nights in Australian cities. Melbourne 9.6 million, Sydney 8.9 million and Brisbane 6.9 million.

Domestic overnight visitor spend in Australian Cities
  1. Melbourne $3.2 billion
  2. Sydney $2.9 billion
  3. Brisbane $2.0 billion
Domestic overnight trips to Australian Cities
  1. Melbourne 3.5 million
  2. Sydney 3.2 million
  3. Brisbane 2.3 million
Domestic visitor nights in Australian Cities
  1. Melbourne 9.6 million
  2. Sydney 8.9 million
  3. Brisbane 6.9 million

For more data, visit the Domestic and regional research page our tourism industry support website.