Coronavirus: A touch of paradise unlocked as Queensland border reopens
Queensland is bracing for an influx of travellers on Friday when the state border reopens, in a welcome move for the tourism industry.
Queensland is bracing for an influx of travellers on Friday when the state border reopens, in a welcome move for the tourism industry, which is expecting a slow recovery as restrictions ease.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned of long delays at the Tugun and Coolangatta border with Queensland’s noon opening to all but Victorian travellers.
The lifting of the border shutdown, first introduced on March 26, coincides with the final day of Queensland school holidays and final week of the school break in NSW and the ACT.
Tourism operators across the state have been preparing for weeks, with inquiries and bookings spiking after the date to reopen was announced by Ms Palaszczuk last week.
Some Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast hotels are booked out, while Great Barrier Reef tours have restarted in far north Queensland.
Yet it is not business as usual, with Cairns operators reporting they were operating at about 30 per cent of average demand after intrastate restrictions were lifted early last month.
Tour company Quicksilver Group usually manages several tours a day at this time of year, but with only 20 per cent of booking capacity being met, managing director Tony Baker has been forced to reduce the number of tours and operational days.
He said the timing of the border reopening and the limited number of flights to Cairns had significantly slowed down the region’s ability to recover. “We are moving out of the school holidays now so we have to focus on the September holidays.
“Victoria is historically a very strong market for far north Queensland — they will certainly be missed going forward,” he said.
“It is definitely going to be a challenge into next year on the maritime side of the business.”
The Pettett family from the Sunshine Coast has been enjoying the great weather and seclusion of the Green Island Resort, off the Cairns’ coast. Mum Melissa said after some trouble getting there because of flight cancellations, the family had extended their stay to take advantage of the warm weather.
“It’s been great. There were three or four other families at the beach and we were all very spread out as if it was just us. We didn’t see anyone for the whole day,” Ms Pettett said.
“It feels pretty safe here at the moment. Everyone is taking precautions — they don’t want to take risks and ruin it (the lifting of restrictions),”
State Tourism Minister Kate Jones said with just one new case in two weeks and two active cases, it was now time to focus on Queensland’s economic recovery. “We’re working closely with tourism operators to make sure Queensland experiences a post-COVID tourism boom,’’ she said.
Victorians tourists headed north through the winter months account for 16 per cent of domestic visitors and in far north Queensland usually make up half of all interstate travellers.
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