Qld hospitality industry needs major overhaul ahead of 2032

Queensland’s hospitality industry needs a major overhaul – including tax revamps, visa changes and role rebrands – to turn Brisbane into a true 24-7 city ahead of the 2032 Games.

Apprentice chefs Matthew Meadows, Marianna Love and Finbarr Vaux at The Star Brisbane. Picture: Lachie Millard

South Bank’s famous bougainvillea-lined walkways should be replicated across Brisbane to safely connect revellers to major entertainment hubs, as cheap around-the-clock public transport drives a thriving night-life to rival that seen in the world’s biggest cities.

And the hospitality industry itself needs a major overhaul, including tax revamps, streamlining of international worker visas and a rebrand of jobs to attract talented new staff who want to build long-term careers.

These are some of the ideas flagged by hospitality movers and shakers as they move to transform the city into a buzzing 24-7 metropolis ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games.

This story is part of The Courier-Mail’s annual Future Brisbane series advocating for a focus on the right legacy outcomes from the hosting of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. You can read all of our coverage here.

Restaurant & Catering Industry Association CEO Suresh Manickam said Brisbane urgently needed more late-night venues that were easy for people to get to.

“We have to have precincts that are open for extended hours and it’s not just the CBD, it’s areas that are part of the greater Brisbane area,” he said.

“If we have a precinct that we’re trying to say is a good entertainment or hospitality precinct, is it well lit? Does it foster and encourage foot traffic? Is it friendly for young people, old people, females? Because we want everyone to enjoy and feel safe and secure.”

Restaurants and Catering Industry Association CEO Suresh Manickam. File picture: John Appleyard

He said these precincts’ success depended on being well serviced by public transport and rideshare companies until the early hours of the morning, taking inspiration from cities that never sleep, such as Singapore, Tokyo and Beijing.

It’s a sentiment also backed by Howard Smith Wharves CEO Luke Fraser.

“It’s a combo of great public transport that runs reliably and late, but then that has to be supported by a high number of other methods as well, like paths for walking, scooters and bikes,” he said, recommending arbours like the famous bougainvillea-clad structure at South Bank be introduced to link HSW with Fortitude Valley’s Brunswick St Mall and James St, giving locals and visitors a safe way to move throughout the city.

Mr Fraser also recommended we take advantage of the Brisbane River to link major late-night and entertainment precincts.

“The river is a great opportunity for connectivity,” he said. “There’s Howard Smith Wharves, Queen’s Wharf, South Bank, the new Dexus Pier coming, down to Hamilton and Bulimba. It’s a great way to move people through those precincts and it’s a wow factor. There’s not a more beautiful way to travel around the city.”

Brisbane City Council said it was aiming for Brisbane to be the “Barcelona of the southern hemisphere with 24/7 transport and a range of vibrant night-time precincts”.

There are calls for South Bank’s Bougainvillea Arbour to be replicated around the city to move people around hospitality precincts.

Queensland’s new Night-Life Economy Commissioner John ‘JC’ Collins said safe late-night precincts were a must for the Games, but warned it would take a dramatic cultural change to make them viable for operators, with Queenslanders known for going to bed early.

“Being a business owner, you’d like to stay open late, but if you’re losing money because no one’s there, you’re going to close,” Mr Collins said.

“So there are some cultural challenges there to become that world-class city.”

However, he agreed that having adequate and affordable transport in these areas would go a long way to encouraging more people to go out late and stay out late.

Also necessary to make these late-night precincts work is a dramatic boost in hospitality workers.

Queensland is currently battling a crippling skills shortage, with a severe lack of quality chefs, sommeliers, waiters and more.

To ensure Brisbane’s hospitality scene is alive and thriving by 2032, industry insiders insist we need to overhaul the sector’s image and make it “fun and sexy” to entice Australians into the workforce.

“This starts with showcasing hospitality as a viable and rewarding career path, not just a temporary job,” hospitality advocate and coffee guru Phillip Di Bella of the Coffee Commune said.

Finbarr Vaux, 17, is one of the school-based apprentices at The Star Brisbane and said he was training to be a chef as he believed it would open tremendous opportunities.