Strong domestic demand is certainly supported by the federal government’s discounted airfares program, with flights to Queensland attracting more than half of the bookings to multiple destinations in the state. Meanwhile, the Queensland government’s voucher program, launched with a program for Cairns, has now been expanded to Brisbane and the Whitsundays with the support of TEQ the Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs). The individual programs are tailored to each region and should bring some additional revenue to those businesses still most in need.
In further good news, albeit with the benefits further down the track, the collaboration between all levels of government to advance the Brisbane bid for the 2032 Olympics has been taken to a great new level with the federal commitment to share the infrastructure costs with the state government. If the bid is successful, the transformational opportunities for tourism for all of Queensland will be enormous and will provide a strong direction for the future.
On Monday this week, public voting closed for our Top Tourism Town awards. We have been overwhelmed by the public and media interest in this initiative (watch this news clipping from Channel 7). With nearly 30,000 votes coming in, it is a strong indication of how passionate everyone feels about the great destinations. It has provided a great platform for communities to come together and celebrate a bit of local pride and in doing so inspire us all to visit places we may not have fully explored. If you haven’t had a look yet, watch outstanding, quirky, humorous and heartwarming videos created by the 37 competing towns ….. We will announce the winners on 20 May, in the presence of the Minister for Tourism, with Mayors and representatives invited from all towns.
And, further to awards, don’t forget to put in your nomination for this year’s Queensland Tourism Awards. Now is the time to shine again and demonstrate that our industry is ‘good to go’ in every sense. It will be a great celebration at the Awards gala event on 12 November – make sure you are part of it.
Kind regards,
Daniel Gschwind
