Queensland’s epic long weekend boosts economy by $300m

THE final fling of the summer holidays has delivered an estimated $300m windfall to the Queensland economy.

With Australia Day falling on a Tuesday, thousands of Queenslanders booked an extra day of annual leave – or took a good old-fashioned sickie – to create an epic fourday weekend ahead of the return to work and school today.

It comes after promising signs that saw $2.7bn pumped into the state’s tourism industry during the September quarter, in another injection of good news for an industry left reeling by border closures and travel bans.

From July to September, Queenslanders injected an average of $30m a day into the state’s tourism industry according to statistics released this month by Tourism Research Australia. That figure is expected to be more than doubled by holiday-makers over the summer break, with operators reporting a booking blitz over the weekend, with fine weather, an easing of Brisbane’s hot spot restrictions and the last chance to revel in the summer holidays combining to create a bonanza worth an estimated $300m.

It’s a belated Christmas present for an industry that has bled more than $10bn since the first case of the coronavirus amid dire predictions that up to a quarter of the state’s tourism businesses could go broke in the coming months.

But latest TRA data shows Queensland continues to weather the COVID crisis better than any other state, with major rivals NSW and Victoria each recording significantly bigger drops in tourism revenue.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who visited the state’s north over the break, said it was heartening to see people enjoying the final days of the break.

“Our tourism industry has done it tough over the last 12 months (so) it’s been great to see so many people out and about over the last few days – spending money in their local communities, supporting local jobs,” she said.

“The Good to Go tourism campaign continues to pay off for Queensland businesses.

“We’re urging Aussies to book a holiday in Queensland in 2021.”

Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Daniel Gschwind said there had been encouraging reports from operators across the state.

“There has been some really good booking activity which has been very positive after all the uncertainty,” he said.