Tourism chiefs: Queensland should aim to be number one destination

Industry leaders are urging Queensland to chase a bold ambition to become Australia’s leading tourism state over the next decade.

QUEENSLAND should set itself a bold target of becoming Australia’s number one tourism state, say industry leaders and experts.

A perfect storm of opportunity has positioned the Sunshine State with an ideal chance to leapfrog Victoria and New South Wales and claim the crown as the nation’s premier destination over the next decade or so.

International tourist numbers are set to surge worldwide, especially among the burgeoning Asian middle-class on our doorstep, with Chinese visitors alone to Australia set to almost triple by 2027.

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Billions of dollars are being invested in an unprecedented wave of new resorts, luxury accommodation, attractions, and infrastructure including the new second runway which will give Brisbane Airport the greatest capacity in the country.

And with the Great Barrier Reef, world-class rainforests and national parks and the outback appealing to a growing global appetite for eco-tourism, wildlife and cultural experiences — and a rapidly growing reputation for food and drink options — senior figures in the sector say the time is ripe to strike.

But it won’t be easy. Queensland has slipped to third place behind New South Wales and Victoria as the most visited state, with a 24 per cent overall market share across all visitors.

Domestic tourism growth well outstripped the southern states last year and, while international visitors did not grow as quickly, the increase in the average amount spent per trip here surged ahead.

Industry figures highlight quality, the need for new things for visitors to do, marketing and transport as key areas to address — along with securing the Olympic Games.

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Matt Bekier, CEO/managing director of The Star Entertainment Group which is investing $3.6 billion on the massive Queen’s Wharf integrated casino-resort precinct in Brisbane, and up to $2 billion on its Broadbeach, Gold Coast, tourism hub, said it was “feasible and hugely desirable” that Queensland target the top spot.

“Queensland rates exceptionally high in all the things that international visitors are looking for. Whether that’s food, friendliness, safety, the climate and the outdoors so it’s such a fantastic opportunity.

“And if you do it well, it’s a renewable resource that we can continue to develop and get more out of and create local jobs.

The Star Entertainment group CEO Matt Bekier. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“To really make a marked difference we have to lift the total experience. So we collectively need to lift the standard of service across the country and the state to service those high-value customers.

“That’s where I think we have a lot more to do.”

Tourism Australia CEO John O’Sullivan said: “Of course it’s a realistic ambition (to be number one).

“In many ways you have three separate major destinations in one state — Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. That’s a pretty unique opportunity.”

“It’s about ensuring our product stays fashionable.”

Tourism Australia chairman Bob East who also chairs the adventure tourism group Experience Co, says social media impact is crucial. “It has to be something that people want to take a picture of and share. People are looking for experiences that make them the envy of their social circle.”

Tourism Australia CEO John O'Sullivan.

Research for The Courier-Mail by demographer and social commentator Bernard Salt highlights the Sunshine State’s changing fortunes over the past three decades.

Between 1991 and 1997, Queensland’s share of foreign tourist coming to Australia grew from 27 per cent to peak at 31 per cent. By 2008, it had dropped back to 27 per cent and continued to decline to 21 per cent in 2017, bouncing back slightly to 22 per cent last year.

Mr Salt says the problem is also potentially a prime advantage for Queensland — the “studentification of Sydney and Melbourne”.

Our 18 per cent share of the international student market is dwarfed by the other states and, at 22 per cent, the portion of people visiting friends and family also lags badly.

In addition to targeting more students themselves, Mr Salt says clever marketing could persuade parents visiting their children at universities in NSW and Victoria to include a holiday here in their itinerary.

“We are en route back to Asia so the message should be ‘come and end your time in Australia with a city/beach/reef holiday in Queensland’.”

Capturing that cohort would also help lift the number of more lucrative visitors aged in their 50s and 60s.

Chinese tourists Wang Kun and Jhong Guo enjoying Brisbane. Picture: Peter Wallis

A successful bid for the 2032 Olympic Games by southeast Queensland would help. “Suddenly, in the lead-up people can brag top their friends that they visited the city were the Olympics are going to be held. It has a social cachet,” Mr Salt said.

Tourism Australia forecasts the number of Chinese tourists to Australia will explode from 1.3 million last year to 3.8 million in 2027. The 502,000 who visited Queensland spent $1.4 billion in 2018 — expected to hit $3.5 billion in 2025.

Mr Salt says Cairns and Brisbane’s positions as the two closest Australian gateways to that enormous growth market gave it an advantage in seeking supremacy and suggested promoting the teaching of mandarin as a preferred second language in the state’s schools.

Chinese is the second most taught language, after Japanese, with 16 per cent of students learning it.

The inner-city resort precincts would draw large numbers of new tourists, but he believed a blockbuster new attraction was still needed. “Is it a Disneyland that would make Queensland a really compelling destination?” he said.

Tourism Minister Kate Jones says reclaiming the number two spot we lost to Victoria in 2013 is in her sights, but the numbers going to Sydney would be hard to outreach.

“What I want is for Queensland to restore its place as number one in people’s hearts and minds. We look back on the 80s with nostalgia as a time when you had to holiday in Queensland. Now we want to people to say you have not had an Australian experience unless you’ve been to Queensland.”

Former Mt Isa Rodeo Queen Katy Scott kicks up her heels ahead of the outback’s biggest party. Picture: Peter Wallis

Tourism and Events Queensland forecasts the value of the industry to rise from $24.3 billion to $33.1 billion over the next six years, with the international component expected to grow from a quarter to a third.

CEO of peak body, Tourism and Transport Forum, Margy Osmond said: “I don’t think it’s unrealistic for Queensland to aim for number one and I think it’s the right aspiration to have.

“For any tourism state to succeed, it is all about the infrastructure and it is all about the marketing dollar.”

She said Queensland was doing an ‘’outstanding job” but urged Treasurer Jack Trad to boost last year’s $100 million base tourism funding by at least $20 million in next week’s State Budget. “You get what you pay for.”

Daniel Gschwind, CEO of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council, said the domestic market had languished for a few years due to the high value of the dollar, proliferation of low-cost flights and new Asian resorts tempting travellers.

“Competition in the Asia-Pacific region impacted Queensland especially as the pre-eminent holiday destination in Australia. Bali practically became a domestic destination.

“But that rush to go overseas has subsided a bit. We are back in the game.”