International tourists touch down in QLD for first time in 2 years, but industry expects recovery to be slow

There are emotional scenes at Brisbane Airport this morning as the first international travellers in 703 days land in Queensland, reuniting them with family and friends. SEE THE PICTURES

The first flights have landed at Brisbane Airport after more than two years of international border closures.

Arrivals from Auckland and Singapore have been the first to land in the Brisbane International Airport on Monday.

Becky McCormack and her best friend Sophie Thonemann shared a warm embrace after they reunited for the first time after Ms McCormack spent the last two years living in Europe.

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For mother Sue Stevens and her son Ben Stevens, who has been living in Berlin for work, they reunited with a tearful hug.

“We tried to see each other but border closures made it really hard for us,” Ms Stevens said.

Zsofi Nemeth hugs mum Julianna Nemeth in front of Rudolf Nemeth hugging son-in-law David Kaity. Picture: Brad Fleet

Rudolf and Julianna Nemeth arrived from Hungary via Singapore to reunite with their young granddaughter and pregnant daughter.

The couple reunited with their daughter and son-in-law Zsofi and David Kaity after being separated by border closures for two years.

They had only met their granddaughter Lili once before international borders closed.

Zsofi Nemeth hugs mum Julianna Nemeth and daughter Lili Kaity, 5. Picture: Brad Fleet

Alex Ng arrived at Brisbane Airport from Singapore after waiting two years to return to Australia due to strict restrictions.

“I think it’s harrowing, especially in Singapore where we weren’t able to travel for up to two years. I used to come here every month, so a lot can change,” said Mr Ng.

“It’s been a long time. I’m extremely happy they’ve reopened the borders.”

Zsofi Nemeth, Julianna Nemeth, Lili Kaity, 5, Rudolf Nemeth and David Kaity. Picture: Brad Fleet

After living in Australia for one-and-a-half years, Chantal Ebbinge was excited to see her friends

“I plan to be with my friends because one of them is turning 30 this weekend,” said Ms Ebbinge.

“I just love the nature and the people of course...and I’ve got really good friends.”

Audine Bartlett hugs brother Grant Bartlett at Brisbane International Airport as borders re-open. Picture: Brad Fleet

More than 1500 passengers are expected to come through Brisbane Airport’s international terminal on day one of the reboot of Australia’s international tourism market, though the numbers are less than a tenth of the pre-pandemic daily average.

Emotional scenes at Brisbane International Airport. Picture: Brad Fleet

Before the pandemic, Brisbane International Airport saw around 17,000 arrivals on a day with 29 airlines travelling from 34 destinations.

But there are “early green shoots of recovery” within the international market according to Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), with Qantas set to resume services between Brisbane and Los Angeles on April 1, while Qatar Airways will increase its services to Doha from March 1.

Rachel Bronish at Brisbane International Airport ready for the opening of borders. Picture: Richard Walker

Singapore Airlines will also begin adding more services this month, with Emirates bringing back its daily A380 service from March 1.

A BAC spokeswoman said the number of international services to Brisbane will increase from 48 a week to 60 over the next five weeks.

Overall though, the Covid-19 battered Queensland tourism industry expects it will take years before international holiday-makers stream in at pre-pandemic levels.

And after shedding tens of thousands of tourism jobs during the pandemic, the sector now has to overcome a critical staff shortage.

From today (Monday) international tourists who have at least two doses of a recognised Covid-19 vaccine will be allowed to come in without any onerous quarantine requirements.

Tourism chiefs, including Queensland Tourism Industry Council’s Daniel Gshwind and Tourism Tropical North Queensland chair Ken Chapman, expect the recovery of the state’s international market will be a slow burn.

“It will certainly be a trickle to begin with, because we don’t have the (international) flights into Cairns … and there’s still a lot of travel restrictions around the globe,” Mr Chapman said.

“It’s going to be a long, tough hard slog to get international tourism back to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef … but at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

A spokeswoman for Brisbane Airport Corporation said it could take “three to five years to get back to pre-Covid levels”.

Daniel Gshwind is expecting recovery in the tourism industry to be slow. Picture: Annette Dew

Mr Gshwind estimated the tourism industry had lost a total of $80bn in revenue nationally through the pandemic.

An estimated 50,000 tourism and hospitality workers had to be let go during the pandemic, with the sectors now in the throes of a significant skill shortage.

“We are opening the gates but it will take a bit of time to get going and activate those markets,” Mr Gshwind said.

“We are hoping to rebuild the workforce at the same time as we rebuild the market.”

Nationally, 56 international flights are due to land today, half of those in Sydney.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 1.23m students, visitors, and working holiday makers are “visaed up” and can now stream into the country if they meet the vaccine requirements.