Queensland tourism leaders welcome return of interstate visitors
It has borne most of the brunt of Queensland’s border closure, now the jewel in the state’s tourism crown is looking forward to a new lease on life.
QLD Business
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TOURISM leaders will go into overdrive to lure visitors back to Queensland after yesterday’s decision to reopen the state to most of the country.
While Victoria was excluded from the revised border restrictions to take effect on July 10, tourism leaders welcomed the certainty surrounding new regulations and will push the button on a series of aggressive marketing campaigns to entice travellers from interstate.
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Victoria provides the third biggest slice of Queensland’s domestic tourism numbers, but the vast majority of our overnight visits come from NSW and within our own borders.
Victoria last year accounted for 2.3 million of Queensland’s 26 million overnight stays, well below the number of Queenslanders (17.8 million) and NSW (4.5 million), but significantly more than other states and territories.
It leaves a potentially sizeable hole in the coffers of Queensland tourism operators, but as Victoria lurches perilously close to a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, industry leaders accepted the course of action outlined by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk as ‘the right balance’ for now.
In addition to the revised border controls, the easing of restrictions on entertainment venues should also serve as an enticing carrot for luring visitors from virtual hibernation in other states.
Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Daniel Gschwind welcomed the easing of restrictions, and said interstate travel was a vital contributor last year worth $9.2 billion to the state economy.
Interstate tourism provides incomes for 240,000 employees and tens of thousands of business in every part of Queensland,” he said.
“This announcement by the Premier will bring back a new ray of hope to all those people and their families.”
The Gold Coast has borne the brunt of the border closure, with almost 200,000 residents of northern NSW unable to cross in to Queensland since March, while Victorians last year accounted for a record 638,000 visitors to the Glitter Strip.
Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista said a new interstate tourism campaign would launch immediately to harness travellers from the states allowed to visit Queensland.
Visit Sunshine Coast chairman David Ryan said he hoped to welcome Victorian back in the future ‘but only when it is safe to do so’.
“We appreciate how hard a decision it must have been for the Premier and her Government, but with the necessary precautions in place, we are confident that the travel situation can be managed effectively,” he said.