The nine-day festival is held in the Black Rock Desert and is designed for a community "dedicated to radical self-reliance", where everyday constraints are thrown out the window.
About 70,000 people flocked to the popular US festival this year.
But newly released government figures show senior public servants attended last year on behalf of the Queensland Government.
Head of group executive events at Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) John Drummond Montgomery and head of Events Operations Rebecca Mantle spent a combined $27,060.
The spokeswoman said the visit also included meeting with stakeholders in Nashville and organisers of the World Surfing League to further develop events on the Gold Coast.
Senior tourism staffers spent almost $260,000 in the 2017-18 financial year, up from $185,000 in 2016-17.
Staff at the Department of Premier and Cabinet also spent up big with more than $150,000 of expenses in the last financial year.
Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art sent 17 staffers overseas on trips across a number of countries including Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, Turkey and even Iran, costing taxpayers more than $43,000 last year.