Tourism, Manufacturing and Small Business Minister Jan Jarratt said the number of Queenslanders who holidayed in their home state has increased 3% to just over 4.7 million.

More than 3.6 million Queenslanders also visited friends and relatives in Queensland in the year to September 30 - 183,000 more than the previous year.

"The new figures show more than 4.7 million Queenslanders have supported the tourism industry by holidaying at home," Ms Jarratt said. "The tourism industry says thank you. And with the summer holidays gearing up there's still time to plan a break, whether it's to enjoy our surf beaches, the reef, rainforests, the wonders of the Outback, or something in between. There's a lot on offer in Queensland and much to see and enjoy."

The Tourism Research Australia data showed an overall 6% increase in domestic travel to Queensland - up to 16.8 million visitors in the year ending September 2011.

"This shows our joint $12 million recovery package and its centrepiece Nothing Beats Queensland campaign hit the mark and struck a chord with Australians," the Minister said. "We sent the message out that despite the challenges nature had thrown our way, Queensland is where Australia shines and one of the best ways to help the tourism sector recover was to holiday at home. Tourism Queensland's aggressive marketing and the fantastic support our industry partners have paid off."

Ms Jarratt said much of the increase was driven by business travel - up 17% to 3.8 million, thanks largely to the booming resources sector.

"While more Australians travelled to Queensland in the year to September, the downside is they didn't stay as long or spend as much which is evidence of consumer confidence and pressures on household budgets," she said.

"Australians spent 69 million nights in Queensland in the year to September, 2% less than the year before, and they spen t $11.3 billion which is 1% less."

Ms Jarratt said those who lived in Sydney and Melbourne were feeling the economic pinch more than others as mortgage stress saw them taking fewer interstate holidays.

Likewise, Australians on household incomes of less than $100,000 per annum reduced their domestic overnight travel during the year to September 2011.

Australians living outside the capital cities holidayed more however, with 603,000 regional New South Wales residents taking an overnight holiday in Queensland - up 3%.

Ms Jarratt said results were mixed for Queensland's regions.

Brisbane performed strongly, with overnight domestic visitors up 21% to more than five million in the year to September, largely driven by strong business and holiday markets. Visitor expenditure in Brisbane also increased 15% to $2.6 billion.

The Sunshine Coast performed well with overnight domestic visitor numbers increasing 6% to 2.7 million in the year to September, while expenditure eased 1% to $1.7 billion.

The number of Australians staying in the Whitsundays remained steady at 496,000.

The Gold Coast saw a 3% decline in overnight domestic visitors to 3.2 million, and a 7% decrease in spending to $2.6 billion, largely driven by a decline in the number of Brisbane residents travelling to the Coast.

Tropical North Queensland also saw declines in both overnight visitor numbers and expenditure, with visitors dropping 5% to 1.3 million and expenditure down 7% to $1.4 billion.

"The last 12 months have certainly been amongst the most challenging that our 115,000 tourism businesses have ever faced," Ms Jarratt said. "Many tourism operators have started to bounce back thanks to a strong Easter, June and September school holiday period. Early indications are for a strong summer holiday period which we want to carry us into a positive 2012."