100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

Forget Bora Bora and Cancun, the Sunshine Coast has emerged as a tourism world-beater

Do you have a news tip? Click here to send to our news team.

Summer safety alert following alarming fatality statistics

The community is being urged to put safety first this summer, after 15 children under five tragically drowned across Australia in 2024-25, with half More

Botanic garden transforms into open-air art showcase

Maroochy Bushland Botanic Garden has been transformed into an outdoor art gallery, with colourful works lining bushland paths as part of a free summer More

Photo of the day: morning calm

Jo Allayialis captured this photo of the Kings Beach Ocean Pool in the early morning. If you have a photo of the day offering, More

Coast property 2026 outlook: one suburb set to boom

Property pundits have outlined their expectations for the Sunshine Coast in 2026, with one suburb earmarked to boom. Experts predict home values in the region More

Shark spotted at popular Coast swimming spot

A shark has been spotted close to shore at a popular swimming spot on the Sunshine Coast. The 2.5-metre shark of an unidentified species was More

Popular Coast live music venue announces surprise closure

Fresh off hosting a popular music festival, a major Sunshine Coast entertainment and dining precinct has announced it will close, revealing business losses of More

It’s official: the Sunshine Coast is the most loved destination in the world.

The incredible accolade was announced by the Tourism Sentiment Index.

This tracked the sentiment of travellers online across a staggering 1.8 billion conversation and content pieces in 2021 to determine how people felt about destinations around the world.

Queensland dominated the top 100, with the Sunshine Coast no.1, followed by Whitsundays in second, Noosa at no. 5 and Cairns at no. 9.

Udaipur in India ranked 3rd, French Polynesia’s Bora Bora fourth, Nice (France) 6th, Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) 7th, Cancun (Mexico) 8th and Puerto Vallarta (Mexico) 10th.

The complete list of the world’s most loved destinations as outlined by the Tourism Sentiment Index can be viewed at: http://www.sentiment-index.com/most-loved

Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Matt Stoeckel said the announcement was amazing news given this survey was based on worldwide word-of-mouth sentiment.

The stunning Glass House Mountains as seen from Maleny. Picture: Visit Sunshine Coast

“The Tourism Sentiment Index is a measure of a destination’s ability to generate positive word of mouth about its tourism offering, and our number one status reflects how well the Sunshine Coast is delivering on its visitor experience,” Mr Stoeckel said.

“It’s a huge endorsement of the Sunshine Coast as a premium tourist destination,” he said.

“With international borders set to open, the fact that the Sunshine Coast resonates so strongly overseas highlights the potential we have to regrow our visitor numbers.

“We have been using the last year to emphasise the Sunshine Coast’s nature-based experiences, along with our food, health and wellness assets, and this survey shows that our messages have really struck a chord with potential travellers.”

For more on the Sunshine Coast, go to visitsunshinecoast.com.

Subscribe to SCN’s free daily news email

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
This field is hidden when viewing the form
[scn_go_back_button] Return Home
Share