North Queensland tourist destinations plead for last-minute bookings

While southern tourist destinations see a wave of last-minute bookings, operators in Cairns and Port Douglas say they’re being left behind.

CAIRNS tourism operators are pleading with Southeast Queenslanders not to forget the north, saying the Sydney lockout had decimated their bookings and there were now plenty of great experiences now up for grabs.

The Far North’s best Christmas bookings ever were wiped out in minutes when the Palaszczuk Government announced it was slamming the border shut on Greater Sydney over the Northern Beaches COVID outbreak.

Hotel operators in Cairns and Port Douglas said before the announcement they were at full occupancy and were turning people away.

Now, they are begging people from Brisbane and beyond looking for a last-minute holiday not to forget about them, amid mass cancellations from Sydneysiders - their key market.

A cassowary in the Cairns hinterland suburb of Kuranda. Queenslanders are being urged to venture north. Picture: File.

Hotel operators on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast told the Courier-Mail they were able to fill the cancellations in a matter of hours, as Queenslanders flocked to fill the gaps, but Far North operators haven’t been so lucky.

One Port Douglas operator said after the Avalon Cluster outbreak he had 37 cancellations worth $22,000.

Another operator, Larry Smith of Port Douglas Getaways, said they were turning away people from Victoria and Queensland after becoming booked out earlier in December, until Sydney’s Northern Beaches cluster meant 15 per cent of would-be customers had to postpone their plans for the third time in 2020.

“Port Douglas was set to have its best Christmas ever,” Mr Smith said.

“It was getting very hard (to find a room). Now there’s some great choices, all because of Sydney.”

Mr Smith said some who cancelled had originally booked for Easter, then were forced to postpone to September, then December, and now April again.

Hotels such as the Rydges Esplanade in Cairns were offering good deals on rooms, according to booking websites. Picture: Escape.

Floriana Villas owner-manager Janice Birrell, who has operated the facility for 32 years, described 2020 as a “nightmare” and said she wanted southeast Queenslanders to venture north.

“It’s the quietest year on record, this year has been the worst,” Ms Birrell said.

“I think we’re starting to get a few bookings,” she said.

“Definitely come up, we have the barrier reef, the rainforest, there’s plenty to do up here.”

Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind said Cairns and surrounding regions were feeling the brunt of Greater Sydney’s COVID-19 lockout while the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast did comparatively well.

“Clearly the absence of travellers from Sydney and the shaken confidence of travellers is now being reflected in cancellations from across the state,” Mr Gschwind said.

“These gaps are harder to fill the further away from major population centres,” he said.

Mr Gschwind said there was “good value” to be had for people who booked a holiday in the north.

Pictures from Mossman Gorge Bed and Breakfast.

It comes as operators on both the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast report solid booking numbers despite Greater Sydney tourists being barred from Queensland.

O’Reilly’s chief executive and Queensland Industry Tourism Council chairman Shane O’Reilly said bookings at his Gold Coast hinterland resort had seen 45 room nights cancel in the space of five days.

But he said most operators had seen cancelled bookings then snapped up by last-minute Brisbane residents.

“(Gold Coast hotels) have seen quite a number rebooked, and we’ve seen the same,” Mr O’Reilly said.

Operators on the Sunshine Coast, including the interstate hotspot of Noosa, had reported that many cancelled bookings were being filled within hours.

Tourism Noosa communications manager Susan Ewington said despite the Greater Sydney fiasco, many opeartors had weathered the storm.

“It was definitely very full – obviously there’s been those cancellations from Greater Sydney,” Ms Ewington said.

“If you haven’t book a holiday, now’s the time to take the opportunity.”

“I would encourage people to jump online and check out what deals are out there.”

Finder travel expert Angus Kidman said data from online booking sites showed more vacancies both in Port Douglas and Noosa.

“The hard border closures and tough quarantine measures mean that NSW residents are cancelling travel plans,” Mr Kidman said.

“While it’s still early days, we are seeing more rooms available in popular holiday destinations, especially in beach locations.”