Queensland’s tourism operators are gearing up for a hat-trick of long weekends this month to deliver perfect Queensland getaway experiences.
Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said with school holidays underway, followed by Easter, ANZAC Day and Labour Day, tourism operators were banking on a bumper April.
“A hat-trick of long weekends in April means now is the time to discover and recover with a Queensland short break,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“Feedback from tourism operators confirms holiday bookings are pouring in for Easter across many Queensland getaway regions.
“Accommodation occupancy rates in the Tropical North Queensland region have hit 88 per cent for Easter and 78 per cent on the world-famous Gold Coast.
“Tourism operators in the Southern Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsundays are also doing well, but there are still opportunities to secure long weekends in Queensland paradise.
“We know visitors are snapping up hundreds of terrific Easter and long weekend deals from tourism businesses eager to share their unique short break holiday experiences.”
“Whether it’s a city escape, the beach, secluded islands or the Outback, at this time of year Queensland’s weather is hard to beat.”
The best long weekend getaway deals are in one place at Queensland.com/deals
Mr Hinchliffe said aviation was also rallying for recovery.
“It’s a fact, flight availability is critical to the success of Queensland’s tourism industry,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“Brisbane Airport alone has broken runway records for two consecutive Fridays with domestic passenger activity almost at 97 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.”
Strong April and early May holiday bookings follow positive trends in the latest data for 2021 from Tourism Research Australia.
Australians spent a record $9.5 billion on Queensland holidays in the last year up to December, boosting the tourism industry’s economic recovery.
“This data shows the enthusiasm of Queenslanders for supporting the state’s tourism operators and discovering world-class visitor experiences in their own backyard,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“Spending by Queenslanders on visitor bookings and experiences during 2021 is up by more than half.
“Our major marketing campaigns at home and interstate, including Good to Go and the Great Queensland Getaway, fuelled a 7.7 per cent increase in domestic spending on Queensland holiday bookings, compared to 2019.
“The five major tourism campaigns and initiatives we rolled out in 2021 generated tens of thousands of holiday bookings when tourism operators needed them most.
“The Whitsundays bounced back from the closure of the international border to break the region’s domestic spending record.
“Tropical North Queensland also experienced strong domestic overnight visitor spending.”
In the Whitsundays, total domestic overnight visitor expenditure achieved a record high of $992.6m, an 82.8 per cent increase on pre-pandemic spending.
Cairns and Great Barrier Reef region’s total domestic overnight visitor expenditure was up 9.3 per cent since 2019 to $2.7 billion.
Domestic expenditure growth in the Southern Great Barrier Reef region was up 4.9 per cent during 2021.
Southern Queensland Country with the nationally known Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers and country escape experiences, also achieved growth of 7.6 per cent domestic expenditure in 2021.
“We know there’s more work to be done and Tourism Research Australia’s survey does show some regions making greater strides to recovery than others,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“The Palaszczuk Government is committed to continuing to support tourism to rebuild a strong Queensland visitor economy.”
For Queensland’s best long weekend getaway deals, visit Queensland.com/deals
