Queensland tourism operators are preparing for an influx of 238,000 southerners to come into the Sunshine State over the next week, as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk finally opens the borders to the rest of the country on Friday.

As the Palaszczuk government announced it would ban all Victorians from coming into the state – rather than allowing two-week hotel quarantine – hotel managers, especially those on the Queensland-NSW border, were preparing for a return of interstate visitors.