Brisbane

Brisbane, Australia, scores 78 on the CIRA Index of tourism resilience, #10 of 309 destinations. 29 of 29 measures come from public sources, with 85% confidence. Every grade below states its value, period and source.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: 78
• OECD: 75
• UN Tourism: 83
• UNDRR: 74

Strongest

• Domestic share of nights: 49.7 % of nights by residents of the same country (Brisbane Economic Development Agency / Tourism Research Australia, Brisbane's visitor economy surges to $17 billion, 2025). At or above 45: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 81 % average annual occupancy (CoStar / STR, Brisbane hotels posted record-high room rates in July, July 2025). At or above 75: grade 4/4.
• Unemployment rate: 4 % of the labour force (Jobs and Skills Australia / Australian Bureau of Statistics via economy.id, March 2026). At or below 5: grade 4/4.

Weakest

• Nights in the three busiest months: 80 % of annual nights (Airbtics, Brisbane Tourism Statistics: Insights from Airbnb User, October 2023–September 2024). Above 50: grade 0/4.
• Wildfire and storm hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4.
• Flood hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4.

Australia in the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Development Index

Australia is #4 of 110 countries (5.18 of 7) in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026, which scores countries, not cities. Cities in countries with that WEF score average 69 on the CIRA Index; Brisbane is 9 above that.

Every measure, by theme

Demand and seasonality: 75

• Nights in the three busiest months: 80 % of annual nights (Airbtics, Brisbane Tourism Statistics: Insights from Airbnb User, October 2023–September 2024). Above 50: grade 0/4. Source
• Domestic share of nights: 49.7 % of nights by residents of the same country (Brisbane Economic Development Agency / Tourism Research Australia, Brisbane's visitor economy surges to $17 billion, 2025). At or above 45: grade 4/4. Source
• Largest foreign market: 19.1 % of international arrivals or nights (Brisbane Economic Development Agency / Tourism Research Australia, Brisbane shines as Queensland's top visitor destination, YE March 2025). Between 15 and 20: grade 3/4. Source
• Recovery against 2019: 100 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (region figure) (Tourism and Events Queensland, Brisbane Regional Snapshot, year ending June 2024). Between 100 and 110: grade 3/4. Source
• Average length of stay: 5.7 nights per visitor (region figure) (Brisbane Economic Development Agency / Tourism Research Australia, 2024). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4. Source
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 81 % average annual occupancy (CoStar / STR, Brisbane hotels posted record-high room rates in July, July 2025). At or above 75: grade 4/4. Source

Economy and jobs: 94

• Jobs in tourism industries: 5.7 % of employment in accommodation and food services (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Research by World Travel & Tourism Council; Travel & Tourism by World Travel & Tourism Council), 2026). At or below 8: grade 4/4. Source
• Unemployment rate: 4 % of the labour force (Jobs and Skills Australia / Australian Bureau of Statistics via economy.id, March 2026). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Income per head: 71,934 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). At or above 60,000: grade 4/4. Source
• Economic diversity: 79.9 % of employment outside accommodation, food, retail and transport (National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) / economy.id, 2024/25). Between 72 and 80: grade 3/4. Source

Climate and hazards: 50

• Extreme heat days: 2.6 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Tropical nights: 69.4 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 60 and 100: grade 1/4. Source
• Flood hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
• Wildfire and storm hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
• Country disaster risk: 2.4 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). Between 2 and 3.5: grade 3/4. Source

Water and environment: 88

• Water scarcity: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4. Source
• Wastewater safely treated: 100 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (Inside Water / Urban Utilities, 2023–2024). At or above 95: grade 4/4. Source
• Municipal waste per resident: 514 kg per resident per year (region figure) (Queensland Government, State of the Environment Report, 2018–19). Between 450 and 550: grade 2/4. Source
• Green space: 44 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (Greens Councillor for Paddington Ward / Brisbane City Council data citation, 2024). At or above 40: grade 4/4. Source

Community and housing: 69

• Tourism intensity: 39.5 visitor nights per resident per year (Brisbane Economic Development Agency & Australian Bureau of Statistics (via economy.id), 2025). Between 20 and 40: grade 1/4. Source
• Cruise pressure: not measured yet
• Rent growth: 6.4 % change in rents over the last 12 months (metro figure) (OpenAgent / CoreLogic, 12 months to August 2026). Between 6 and 10: grade 2/4. Source
• Short-let density: 0.5 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (metro figure) (AirROI and Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census), August 2025 – July 2026). At or below 0.5: grade 4/4. Source
• Resident support for tourism: 87 % of residents who say tourism benefits them or the city (region figure) (Tourism and Events Queensland, Social Indicators Study 2023 (cited in TEQ Annual Report), 2023). At or above 70: grade 4/4. Source

Access and continuity: 83

• Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Brisbane City Council & Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, 2024). At or above 4: grade 4/4. Source
• Air traffic recovery: not measured yet
• Rail share of intercity access: not measured yet
• Rail traffic recovery: not measured yet
• Largest airline group share: not measured yet
• Air route concentration: not measured yet
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated, tested plan that names visitors and tourism operators, with warnings in several languages (Brisbane City Council, Local Disaster Management Plan & Brisbane Severe Weather Alert Service, 2024). Grade 4/4. Source
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A plan with named owners, operators and recovery funding (Queensland Government Department of Tourism and Sport & Tourism and Events Queensland, 2024). Grade 3/4. Source
• Government effectiveness: 95.3 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). At or above 80: grade 4/4. Source
• Travel advisory: 1 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). At or below 1: grade 4/4. Source
• Dedicated tourism funding: A promotion budget that depends each year on the general budget (Brisbane City Council & Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA), 2024). Grade 1/4. Source

Compare Brisbane

• Brisbane vs Perth
• Brisbane vs Sydney
• Brisbane vs Canberra
• Brisbane vs Melbourne
• Auckland vs Brisbane

The CIRA Index ranking · City vs city · How the index works · CIRA Studio · Put your city in the pilot