Queensland marketing blitz to save Easter Holidays

A marketing blitz to save Queensland’s Easter holidays tourism market is on the cards to convince potential visitors that the state has not been entirely washed away.

Mackenzie Scott and Sarah Elks

Eight-year-old Tristan Kuusik from Estonia is on the Gold Coast with his family. Picture: Nigel Hallett

3 min read

8:30PMMarch 12, 2025

A marketing blitz to save Queensland’s Easter holidays tourism market is on the cards to convince potential visitors that the state has not been entirely washed away by Tropical Cyclone Alfred and the north Queensland floods.

Tourism Minister Andrew Powell told parliament that with Easter just three weeks away “we know that we need to recover quickly” and reassure potential domestic and international tourists that “Queensland remains open for business”.

“I urge tourists from Australia and around the world to make their bookings now. Yes, our coastline is a tourism drawcard; that is why there are literally machines on the beaches as we speak,” Mr Powell said.

He said the planned taxpayer-funded marketing would roll out to drive Easter demand for hotels and tourism businesses, and hinted that “more is to come”.

“We are already working with (the Queensland Reconstruction Authority) and our federal colleagues to ensure that more marketing continues to let people know that Queensland is open for business,” he said.

Queensland Tourism Minister Andrew Powell is planning a marketing campaign to lure tourists from Australia and overseas to the state for the Easter holidays. Picture: Adam Head

The chief executive of tourism body Experience Gold Coast, John Warn, urged would-be tourists not to cancel their plans to the visit the coast, with work to restore 57km of beach and reopen other attractions already under way.

“The Easter and school holiday periods are incredibly important to our city and we are a hugely popular destination of choice, particularly for families, during this period,” Mr Warn said.

“We know that some holiday-makers may be reconsidering their plans, but we want to ensure visitors the Gold Coast is open, and ready to offer the exceptional holiday experience our destination is known for.”

Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Natassia Wheeler said keeping the perception of the state positive was paramount. “The trouble we’ve got is some people don’t realise how big Queensland is,” she said.

“We rebound incredibly fast. We already have had reports today from the Sunshine Coast that they are business as usual; they’ve got events on this weekend, their beaches are open.

“The Gold Coast, yes, we’ve got some issues in those beach areas … but the theme parks will be open. There are other experiences to enjoy.”

Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn. Picture: Portia Large

Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Natassia Wheeler

Meanwhile, Brisbane’s main drinking water supplies – Wivenhoe and Somerset dams – are releasing floodwaters and are likely to keep spilling until the weekend, to reduce storage levels to cope with possible future heavy rain. Of the region’s 23 un-gated dams, 19 are still overflowing.

Seqwater chief executive officer Emma Thomas said all the rain meant the water flowing down the Brisbane River was “brown” and 90 megalitres of water a day from the Gold Coast desalination plant was being mixed through Brisbane’s drinking water to dilute the floodwater.

Ms Thomas said despite the colour, the water was safe to drink.

Nearly 50,000 homes and businesses were still without power in northern NSW and southeast Queensland, down from more than 400,000 properties at the height of the outages.

There are still about 101,000 properties cut off from NBN fixed line and fixed wireless internet, of which 96,000 are in Queensland.

Telstra had reconnected 90 per cent of the mobile network throughout the cyclone-impacted region by Wednesday afternoon, including connection sites in previously inaccessible areas such as Cedar Creek in Moreton.

The number of insurance claims jumped by 50 per cent overnight on Wednesday, with 34,248 home, vehicle and commercial lodgements made across southeast Queensland and northern NSW.

Despite concerns early on in the weather event that there would be many claims related to damage from cyclonic winds, this has not occurred. The most common claims so far have related to flooding, storm-driven water damage and food spoilage due to power outages.

Insurers having already paid out almost $2.4m in emergency cash payments to almost 6000 cyclone victims to allow them to buy food or find temporary accommodation.

Just 38 of the 661 state schools throughout southeast Queensland remain closed. The majority of closures are on the Gold Coast, where several schools have still not been assessed for safety.