Tourism’s signs of revival taking off

TOURISM’S “new normal” is finally starting to look like the old one.

In a major boost for the industry in Queensland, Brisbane Airport has reported its busiest day of travel since the start of the pandemic two years ago.

On Friday, Brisbane Airport’s domestic terminal recorded more than 43,000 passenger movements in the busiest day since Covid fears sparked restrictions.

The past week has seen the average number of daily passenger movements pass 30,000 for the first time since early 2020.

A spokesperson for Brisbane Airport Corporation said it was heartening to see the buzz returning to travel.

“Today’s passenger numbers are a strong and welcome milestone on the road to recovery for the domestic travel industry,” the spokesperson said.

“We are closer than ever to reaching pre-pandemic numbers domestically, and it is a welcome sight to see the domestic terminal full of life again.”

International travel is also slowly picking up, with Qantas to resume Brisbane flights to Singapore from March 27 and Los Angeles from April 1.

It comes after data from leading online booking platform SiteMinder this week revealed Queensland travel demand was now higher than before the start of the pandemic, with Cairns (up 6.8 per cent) helping to lead the way.

Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind said after the easing of the Omicron surge and the passing of the floods, the future was finally looking brighter.

“Hopefully we’re coming to the end of the doom and gloom,” he said.

“We’ve all been waiting to see some green shoots and now it seems like we are getting them.”