Thousands of working holiday-makers arrive in Queensland to fill job vacancies

The reinforcements have finally arrived for the state’s tourism industry as thousands of working holiday-makers flock to Queensland, but with an estimated 5300 advertised positions still vacant, they have their work cut out.

The reinforcements have finally arrived for the state’s tourism industry as thousands of working holiday-makers flock to Queensland.

After two years with virtually no international visitors to fill thousands of tourism and hospitality positions, more than 5000 working holiday-makers have arrived in Queensland so far this year.

Their arrival will help fill an estimated 5300 advertised positions that remain vacant in the tourism and hospitality sectors at a time when the industry is crying out for willing workers.

According to data from the Federal government’s Department of Home Affairs, more than 5400 working holiday-makers arrived in Queensland in the first six months of the year – with the number in the June quarter more than double that of the March quarter in the clearest sign yet that international visitors are regaining the confidence to travel to Australia for extended stays.

Victoria Kelley and Kelsey Kurre from Ohio in the USA are on a working holiday on Fraser Island as part of a growing number of internationals returning to our tourism work force. Picture: Adam Head

Their arrival has already had an immediate impact, with the number of job vacancies falling steadily over the past few months as more travellers arrive to fill positions.

Tourism typically supports about 200,000 Queensland jobs, with about 50,000 international working holiday-makers travelling throughout the state in the years before the pandemic.

However, despite the encouraging signs, Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Brett Fraser said there was still a long way to go, with 5300 jobs in tourism and hospitality still remaining unfilled.

“It’s still a big challenge,” he said.

“It’s probably the No. 1 issue facing the industry and across every sector.

“It’s going to take a little while yet before the numbers return to anywhere near where they were (before Covid).”

There is also a lag between the number of working holiday visas approved by the Federal government and the number who have actually arrived in Australia, with the high cost of international airfares and the nation’s isolation from major population centres in Europe and the Americas contributing to the slow take-up in visas.

American college friends Victoria Kelley and Kelsey Kurre have taken the plunge, with a working holiday video on social media platform TikTok igniting their curiosity to travel to the other side of the world.

They have just started working at Kingfisher Bay Resort on K’gari (Fraser Island) after researching Australian destinations.

Kelsey Kurre and Victoria Kelley from Ohio in the USA are enjoying a working holiday Down Under with a stint on Fraser Island. Picture: Adam Head

“Working on a tropical island sounded so mystical,” said Victoria, 23.

“I’m a pretty adventurous person, so I thought why not?

“It’s such an amazing country and we’re having such fun.”

About a quarter of the 250 staff working at Kingfisher Bay and K’gari Beach Resort are from overseas, a significant increase on last year when border restrictions kept most international travellers – and workers, away.

Kingfisher Bay is still searching for workers to bring the resort’s staffing levels back to full capacity with a Queensland tourism campaign already targeting visitors in other states in a bid to lure them north.

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