Future Tourism: Building a blueprint for state’s success

It’s unique, on trend and a place both locals and tourists want to be. It’s unashamedly Queensland and we need more destinations like it to stop visitors passing through Brisbane.

TOURISM is a critical spoke in Queensland’s economic wheel.

It’s a $24 billion industry, a bigger employer than agriculture and mining combined, and brings millions of people to the Sunshine State every year.

The numbers are staggering. On any given day in Queensland, there are:

150,800 international tourists

259,500 domestic tourists

110,000 day-trippers

As a population, they would comprise Queensland’s third largest city after Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Of those international visitors, 24,900 of them come from China, 14,100 from the UK and 13,700 are Kiwis. They spend a combined $66.57 million a day.

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While our numbers have been growing and we’ve done well to increase the average spend per visit, our market share of foreign tourists has fallen sharply in the last 15 years.

The Future Tourism campaign launching today will explore what opportunities lie ahead over the next decade and beyond.

As our readers will discover over the next two weeks of the campaign, exciting things are happening.

Work is underway to attract new major events, develop indigenous tourism across Queensland, expand nature and marine opportunities, create future plans for our theme parks and resort islands, build new entertainment venues and explore the potential for a Queensland Olympic Games bid.

But we’ll also reveal the challenges and roadblocks the tourism sector faces.

What infrastructure do we need to accommodate a surge in visitor numbers, and how do we build better transport solutions now to ensure exploring Queensland is a fun, affordable and easy journey?

Former Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad and Federal Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge at Howard Smith Wharves for the signing a Statement of Intent on a City Deal for southeast Queensland, a key outcome of The Courier-Mail’s Future SEQ campaign. Photo: Glenn Hunt

How do we best tell Queensland’s story to the rest of Australia and the world. An Olympics would provide a marketing opportunity like no other, but we can’t rely solely on securing a major event like that to promote ourselves in a highly competitive global market space.

And how do we cater for the emerging growth markets?

China has long been a lucrative inbound market for Queensland thanks to our beautiful beaches and nature experiences.

The value of Chinese visitors to the Sunshine State will continue to climb thanks to its growing middle class.

Younger generations in China are more confident, more comfortable with the English, and more keen to customise their travel experiences.

As a result, the economic benefit from Chinese tourists is forecast to rise from $1.4 billion last year to $3.5 billion in 2025.

But there is also expected inbound growth from other parts of Asia, the US and Europe.

Future Tourism will develop a plan to make this state the No.1 tourism destination in Australia. The plan will be developed in consultation with industry leaders, tourism operators and Queensland’s brightest thinkers.

A host of experts will share their insights at the Future Tourism lunch event on June 13 at Howard Smith Wharves – a venue that provides a great blueprint for putting Queensland on the visitor map. It’s unique, on trend and a place both locals and tourists want to be.

It’s unashamedly Queensland and has brought the Brisbane River to life, just as new venues like Queen’s Wharf and adventure operations on the Story Bridge will do in the next decade.

The state needs more destinations like the growing river precinct if we’re to capitalise on the opportunity on our doorstep.

Director of Howard Smith Wharves Adam Flaskas with head brewer of Felons Brewing Co. Tom Champion. Picture: Tara Croser

Howard Smith Wharves, under the Story Bridge, has brought new life to the Brisbane River. Picture: Lachie Millard

If we don’t, visitors will continue to pass through Brisbane on their way to another destination, and Queensland won’t maximise its tourism potential.

In the north of the state, the father of Queensland tourism, Sir Frank Moore, says wilderness tourism has unlimited potential if a clear strategy can be developed and investment guaranteed.

The Queensland Government has declared this the year of the Outback and recently announced Winton as Australia’s first dark sky sanctuary - a move expected to attract astronomers from around the world.

At the end of this month, the Scenic Rim region will launch Eat Local Week to showcase it’s paddock-to-plate food experiences and stake its claim as Queensland’s answer to the Barossa in South Australia.

These examples speak to the diversity of Queensland’s tourism offering. We’ve grown up from the days of beaches and rollercoasters. We’ve matured and are now ready to tell the world what we have.