Remember when: Tourists cancelled Gold Coast holidays during Gulf War as Israel was bombed

THOUSANDS of Japanese tourists cancelled their holidays to the Gold Coast because of the terrorist threat created by the Gulf War as Israel was attacked.

Flashback: 1991 Gulf War tensions

Gold Coast Bulletin, Friday January 25, 1991

THOUSANDS of Japanese tourists cancelled their holidays to the Gold Coast because of the terrorist threat created by the Gulf War.

The cancellations included a 500-strong Japanese business tourist party which was due to arrive at Surfers Paradise the previous day.

Most of the cancelled tours were due to occur in February or March of 1991 which were promised to be bumper months.

The war in the gulf against Iraq had already led to the cancellation of a trip by the American Society of Travel Agents conference on the Gold Coast.

Gold Coast Bulletin 1991, January 25. Front page.

The Japan Tourism Bureau cancelled 15 incentive tours in just two days.

Gold Coast office general manager Toshiaki Nishizawa said the situation in the Middle East had impacted the industry hard.

“Obviously it’s the Gulf War,” he said.

“Tourism is and industry for peacetime and in wartime people stay home.

Gold Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau chief executive Judith Maestracci said the downturn had the potential to be offset by an increase in domestic tourism, which made up 80 per cent of the city’s numbers.

“The overseas market was building very quickly, you can imagine the disappointment,” she said.

“1991 was going to be a memorable year.”

Meanwhile, a group of more than 100 people, mostly of Jewish background marched on the Iraq embassy in Canberra protesting the rogue nation’s missile attacks on Israel.

Scud missiles were fired on Haifa in northern Israel.