New runway vital as Brisbane Airport drives Queensland’s domestic tourism industry

Tourists flying from Brisbane Airport to the rest of Queensland generate a third of the state’s holiday dollar, according to figures released exclusively to The Courier-Mail’s Future Aviation series.

TOURISTS flying from Brisbane Airport to the rest of Queensland generate a third of the state’s holiday dollar, according to figures released exclusively to The Courier-Mail’s Future Aviation series.

A quarter of the 17.5 million domestic passengers passing through Brisbane Airport are coming to or from the rest of Queensland, according to the report by industry consultants PwC.

Decision that convinced casino giant to invest in Brisbane

Staggering amount of jobs after new runway opens

Incredible discovery beneath Brisbane’s new runway

While significant numbers of those passengers are flying for work or to visit family and friends, the rest are providing a massive tourism boost to cities like Cairns, Townsville and Mackay and surrounding regions.

“Brisbane Airport is key to dispersing visitors throughout Queensland and supporting regional tourism,” the PwC report says.

Future Aviation, a two-week series in partnership with Brisbane Airport, Tourism & Events Queensland, the city’s economic development board Brisbane Marketing and PwC, will highlight the opportunities of Brisbane Airport’s new $1.3 billion runway which opens in the middle of next year.

According to the PwC report, Brisbane Airport with its new runway enable a massive one in 20 jobs in Queensland, including almost doubling its current direct jobs number from 24,000 to 46,000, and another 21,000 indirect jobs across the state by 2040-41.

“Brisbane Airport is Australia’s most domestically connected airport, servicing over 50 domestic destinations,” the report says.

Brisbane’s new $1.3 billion runway is due to open in the middle of next year.

“As such, Brisbane Airport is a key entry point for travellers into Queensland, accounting for over half of domestic arrivals.”

Brisbane and back are the only routes from airports in Charleville, Longreach, Moranbah, Roma, Bundaberg and Gladstone.

Even Cairns Airport, with its international terminal had more than 1.3 million, or one third of its passengers, flying between it and Brisbane last year.

Domestic demand grew by 20 per cent at Brisbane between 2008-09 and 2017-18, to 157,587 flights in or out of the airport.

Top growth markets last year were Proserpine, up 19.4 per cent, Mackay (6.3 per cent) and Canberra (5.5 per cent.) Sydney demand grew 2.2 per cent and Melbourne 1.7 per cent.