Teamwork has buoyed tourism
TEQ WILL CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON MARKETS THAT OFFER THE GREATEST PROMISE — FROM THE STRENGTH OF CHINA, TO EMERGING MARKETS LIKE INDIA.
AS WE head into the end of the year let’s celebrate the spirit of partnership we’ve enjoyed across Queensland this year.
United we stand – and while 2017 was one of our toughest in some time, together we have yet again proven the resilience and spirit of mateship that Queenslanders are known for.
Our collaborative approach has led to several new aviation routes from China that were achieved in partnership with our airports and RTOs.
Major events such as the Battles of Brisbane and Marvel Exhibition saw Queensland host tens of thousands of visitors and gain global exposure.
We’re leveraging every possible opportunity to create a long-lasting tourism legacy for Queensland from next year’s blockbuster event – the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. This is being done in partnership with Tourism Australia, Gold Coast Tourism, GOLDOC and the many other stakeholders involved in delivering the games.
It’s also wonderful to see business travel growing into the state and together with partners we’ve secured the Infinitus incentive program for the Gold Coast (2018) and Amway conference for Tropical North Queensland (2019).
Both of these will be injecting millions of dollars into Queensland’s economy.
We’ve achieved continuously strong visitor numbers and growth in visitor expenditure, which is a huge feat in light of some of the challenges that have been thrown at us.
We constantly strive to be consumer led, experience focused and destination delivered, and in that vein, we look forward to continuing to work with the industry in implementing the Best of Queensland program in 2018.
And yet, I also know 2017 was an extremely challenging year. Cyclone Debbie paid a visit in March and continues to affect our industry.
As ever, the Queensland tourism industry has demonstrated its resilience and we will continue to support those operators and regions who are still recovering.
The Great Barrier Reef also suffered from Debbie on the back of severe bleaching events. However, by working in close partnership with industry, government agencies, world-leading scientists and other stakeholders, we are already seeing the Reef’s resilience – both physically, and as we see tourists flock back to enjoy her beauty.
Looking forward, 2018 is full of promise for us all.
TEQ will continue to focus on markets that offer the greatest promise – from the strength of the China market, to emerging markets, like India, and established markets like US and Japan and here at home – with our vision of inspiring the world to experience the best address on earth.
I thank you for all of your support, partnership and collaboration over the year.
In particular I would like to thank both Bob East and Brett Godfrey for their leadership of TEQ this year.
I look forward to a prosperous new year for Queensland.