Ekka Show Day public holiday locked in for Friday, October 29

The new date for this year’s Ekka Show Day public holiday has been locked in, after it was cancelled for the second year in a row due Covid-19 restrictions, and it sets up a tempting option for a five-day break.

The doomed Ekka Holiday will be transformed into the ultimate Spring Break in a move to deliver a long-overdue tourism bonanza to the Sunshine State.

The show holiday will be moved to Friday, October 29, falling just days before the Melbourne Cup in a tempting prospect for racing fans to take a five-day break.

It will apply to 1.8 million residents in the Brisbane, Moreton Bay and Scenic Rim areas with locals urged to ‘pack the travel bag’ and get out and explore Queensland on a short-break holiday.

The change came after careful deliberation over factors including the new date’s proximity to existing holiday periods, as well as research which suggests people are more willing to travel in warmer weather.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made the announcement during a visit to the Gold Coast on Tuesday.

The Ekka public holiday has been moved to October 29 this year. (Image/AAP Sarah Marshall)

There was also consideration of the current coronavirus crisis at Queensland’s doorstep, with a date still more than two months away hopefully giving authorities more time to get a handle on the situation.

The Ekka holiday creates a potential injection of more than $100 million into the tourism economy.

It will be welcome news for tourism operators in the southeast who have been smashed by repeated lockdowns over the past six months ruining traditional school holiday peak travel periods.

Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the public holiday would fall on a busy weekend for Queensland, with the Noosa Triathlon, Rugby 7s on the Gold Coast and Granite Belt Arts Festival all slated for the long weekend.

“This is a bit of bright news particularly for the southeast Queensland sector,” he said.

Mr Hinchliffe said government support helped the tourism sector, but said “nothing” replaces customers.

He hoped the new long weekend would inject $130m into the struggling industry.

“Don’t plan to spend the weekend binging on Netflix,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

“Get out and experience everything Queensland has to offer.”

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate welcomed the news, with a focus on Brisbane residents taking advantage of their public holiday and choosing a “beach escape’’.

“We want that beach to be in our city,’’ he said.

“It’s sad to see the EKKA Show cancelled in 2021 but it’s fantastic that Brisbane’s residents can now plan a long, long weekend here in our city.’’

Originally published as Ekka Show Day public holiday locked in for Friday, October 29