JETS OUR BEST BET
Airlines plan flights as FNQ sweats on return of $1.4B market
AIRLINES are firing up flight plans for the moment state borders are opened but for many tourism operators welcoming back interstate travellers worth $1.4 billion to the Far Northern economy can’t come quick enough.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (right) flew into Cairns yesterday to declare the region open to intrastate tourism.
While the easing of travel restrictions is a major win, when borders will open is a matter of survival for businesses.
A $1.4 BILLION question mark lurked off camera as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk declared the Far North open for intrastate tourism.
The only flight into Cairns Airport from Brisbane yesterday was a Virgin plane on a codeshare with Singapore Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines arriving at 1.30pm – much too late to conduct a day’s work.
The Queensland Government jet had to fly the Premier and her entourage into the city for a day of meetings with tourism leaders and politicians.
Ms Palaszczuk fronted media at the Reef Fleet Terminal, where she said ferry services to Green Island would be “hopefully resuming in the very near future”.
She encouraged Queenslanders to drive north if flights were not available.
“I really want to reassure people that it is safe to travel and it is safe to go places across Queensland,” she said.
Tropical North Queensland chief Mark Olsen said the State Government’s decision to reopen intrastate tourism from noon yesterday – 12 days earlier than expected – would inject an extra $50 million into the region’s coffers.
“I heard over the last 24 hours the phones have been ringing off the hook with travellers from the southeast corner confirming their accommodation … ” he said.
However, any chance of reopening the state’s borders this month was rejected outright.
“They are definitely shut for the month of June,” Ms Palaszczuk declared.
The jovial atmosphere down on the waterfront could not wholly mask a lingering question of survival gnawing at businesses across the region.
TTNQ figures show interstate tourism is worth $1.4 billion to the regional economy, compared to $1.1 billion for intrastate travel.
International tourism – which faces a much longer wait before returning – is worth about $1.3 billion, while the drive market for domestic same-day travellers kicks about $372 million into the tin.
Opposition leader Deb Frecklington said prolonged state border closures were locking tourism operators owners out of critical business.
“Local jobs and the local economy rely on southerners coming to the Far North to escape the winter cold and spend their money,” she said.
“Annastacia Palaszczuk must keep her original promise and reopen Queensland to interstate tourists on July 10.
“The only way to restart the Queensland economy is to provide certainty and reopen interstate borders.”