Mixed results for Queensland businesses as holiday hordes hit the road

An extraordinary surge in Queensland holiday-makers has helped save Easter – but not everyone has reaped the rewards.

At Easter in Queensland, when it rains it pours.

With Brisbanites still celebrating the end of this week’s lockdown, Easter has become a feast or famine for thousands of businesses across the state.

Campgrounds full to bursting, a wave of last-minute hotel bookings and a tsunami of arrivals at Queensland airports have come, as other businesses face the prospect of losing almost an entire week’s trade at what is traditionally one of the busiest fortnights of the year.

The Gold Coast and far north Queensland have reported their strongest visitor numbers since before the pandemic began, with Port Douglas almost completely booked out.

The Capricorn and Fraser coasts were also able to offset a spate of lockdown-induced cancellations by taking new bookings from lengthy wait lists.

Queensland Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said there were positive signs for the sector emerging from the snap lockdown.

“It’s encouraging to see accommodation bookings in many destinations at or near capacity, and for operators who have been doing it tough that’s good news,” he said.

“Many holiday destinations are having a cracking Easter and those who had experienced COVID-related cancellations have been able back fill vacancies with healthy waiting lists stretching into the school holidays.”

However not everyone has been able to recoup the cancellations.

Miss Moneypenny's Ben Walsh

Hotels linked to the cancelled Super Thunder speedway event at Willowbank and the Brisbane Cycling Festival have gone from sold out to zero in a crippling blow heading into the quiet winter months.

Hospitality traders also reported a mixed bag, with some lamenting cancellations while others have filled every table across the entire weekend.

Ben Walsh, who owns the popular Miss Moneypenny’s bars on both the Gold and Sunshine coasts, said business had clawed back most of the ground lost by Brisbane’s lockdown.

“We saw a significant number of cancellations that wiped out about 70 per cent of our bookings, but since the lockdown lifted the phones have been running hot,” he said.

“The position we’re in today compared to Thursday morning (before the lockdown was lifted) has been massive.

“We’ve had an enormous number of bookings again and it looks like some of it will spill over into next week as well so that’s looking really strong.”

Campgrounds across the state are also jam-packed, with campers holding their nerve in the face of Brisbane’s lockdown and ordinary weather forecasts, flocking to parks for the break.

About 70 per cent of the state’s national park and forest camp sites are booked out for the holidays, almost double the number booked over the Christmas break.

Teewah Beach and Bribie Island are among the popular campsites completely booked out, while an extra 500 spaces were made available at Inskip Point near Fraser Island.