Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk denies new tourism campaign kneejerk reaction to controversy
Annastacia Palaszczuk has dismissed suggestions that the state’s new tourism theme has anything to do with controversy surrounding her Olympic title.
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Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced 2023 as the Year of Accessible Tourism during the industry’s biggest conference on the Gold Coast.
The announcement at the DestinationQ forum comes after criticism of the Premier’s response to the Paralympic part of her Olympics portfolio, but speaking to media on Thursday, Ms Palaszczuk and Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchcliffe said the decision was no kneejerk response and had been in train for months.
The state government has typically declared a specific theme to the be a focal point of tourism each year, with The Year of the Outback and the Year of Indigenous Tourism - which was extended for a second year due to the coronavirus pandemic, recent examples.
Next year will now be the Year of Accessible Tourism, giving increased funding and awareness to the issues affecting tourism and travel for the disabled and mobility-challenged.
The State government will contribute $10 million to an accessible tourism fund so tourism business can develop infrastructure and technology to make travel experiences easier for travellers with impairments.
Ms Palaszczuk said discussions about making accessibility the focus of tourism next year had been taking place “for months”.
“The Minister has been having conversations with the industry, but also with myself so we made the announcement,” she said.
Mr Hinchcliffe also dismissed any suggestion the Year of Accessible Tourism was a response to recent criticism of the Premier’s engagement with the Paralympic component of her Olympics portfolio.
“This is a project that we have been focused on for some time,” he said.
“It was at DestinationQ (tourism conference) last year that we announced funding for Get Skilled, Dylan Alcott’s company, to help develop this capability and this has served as a pathway to the announcement that has happened today.
“It is also a response to calls from the Queensland Tourism Industry Council and recommendations from the expert panel (which guided a tourism road map towards the 2032 Olympics).
“This is a natural conclusion to that.”
The Accessible Tourism in Queensland project has already taken effect in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Fraser Coast, North Queensland and parts of the outback.
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