POLICY TO FORGE OUR FUTURE CAIRNS TNQ STATE BUDGET PRIORITIES 2022-23
TNQ TOURISM RECOVERY FUND COUNCIL: ALL TNQ STATE ELECTORATE: ALL TNQ
BRIEFING NOTE SUMMARY • Tropical North Queensland (TNQ) is world renowned as a leading tourism destination.
• The visitor economy supports one in six jobs directly and indirectly, and pre-COVID the tourism sector paid more than $1B in State and Federal taxes per annum. • To date, the regional economy has lost $5.3B due to COVID-19 border closures. • A detailed roadmap is required from State and Federal Governments to reinstate traveller confidence.
*Source: Conus Consulting/ABS monthly labour market indicators February 2020-September 2021
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FEDERAL ELECTORATES: KENNEDY, LEICHHARDT
THE ISSUE
Tropical North Queensland (TNQ) is a significant tourism destination for both domestic and international visitors, with the region being the gateway to unique World Heritage assets. With a tourism industry accounting for 17% of the regional economy, and international tourism representing 7.4% (Tourism Research Australia, 2021), the local economy faces significant exposure when an event like the COVID-19 pandemic occurs. COVID-19 has devastated the TNQ tourism industry, and to date the regional economy has lost $5.3B in Gross Regional Product (GRP) due to border closures. Domestic lockdowns and no international visitors have led to the region losing $7M a day, as well as more than 6,000 jobs, with another 3,000 forecast to have been lost by December 2021. This has been the primary reason the labour force in the Cairns SA4 region has slumped overall by 4,400* (or -4.9%) people in work. This contrasts starkly with other QLD regions like the Gold Coast
(+51,600* or 14.2%), Townsville (+8,100* or 4.5%), and the Sunshine Coast (+2,200* or 0.6%). Prior to COVID-19, annual tourism expenditure in the region was estimated to reach $5B by 2029. In 2019, one in three visitors to the region were international, so the closure of international borders has impacted TNQ disproportionately. When international borders do reopen, the re-introduction of international aviation capacity to Australia is likely to be slow. Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) must therefore seek to maximise opportunities to recover domestic airline capacity and target destination marketing to drive the recovery of the TNQ tourism sector.
