Opening international borders a welcome move

TOURISM REPORT Opening international borders a welcome move

By Grantlee Kieza,

Industry Reporter Australian tourism has taken a staggering $68.6 billion hit during the COVID pandemic but Queensland is ready to emerge from the rubble to shine again brighter than before.

After urging the Federal Government to unlock international borders for many months, Queensland Tourism Industry Council Chief Executive Daniel Gschwind welcomed the announcement that Australia was reopening to the world on February 21. Tourism Research Australia says that cumulative losses for the nation in terms of international visitors since the start of COVID have amounted to a staggering $68.6 billion. “Our state’s tourism operators have felt the financial blow,” Mr Gschwind said, “with many forced to downsize or close their doors permanently. “The reopening of our nation’s borders to international tourists has provided Queensland’s tourism industry with a muchneeded confidence boost and an assurance that our industry is on the road to recovery. “Yet the financial benefits of open international borders won’t be instantaneously felt by our operators. “As Australia is one of the last countries to open its borders to international tourists, Queensland will be competing with established holiday destinations all vying for holidaymakers.” Mr Gschwind said it was critical that the tourism industry worked in partnership with the private sector, and federal and state governments to rebuild the perception of travel as a safe activity. And he said it was vital that all concerned worked to re-establish Queensland’s tourism brand “as one of the best in the world”.

“Our tourism industry is hopeful and looking forward to 2022 and beyond,” he said, “but we know that there is a lot of hard work ahead of us yet”. The Queensland Government says it will match a $100 million undertaking from the state’s four international airports to lure more visitors to the Sunshine State. Cains, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Brisbane Airports have thrown down the gauntlet to the State Government.

Their combined $200 million attracting aviation program is aimed at delivering more than 5.3 million seats per year to generate almost $4 billion in international tourism revenue.

Australia’s new low-cost domestic airline Bonza has also delivered for Queensland by making its base at the Sunshine Coast Airport, with a secondary base in Melbourne. Former Virgin Blue executive Tim Jordan, who is leading the Bonza venture, says the budget carrier will forgo the lucrative “golden triangle” routes between Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne for under-served leisure locations in hopes of stimulating new demand. It will fly 20 routes not serviced by the major carriers, allowing holidaymakers in regional Australian centres to fly to places such as the Sunshine Coast and Whitsundays without having to first fly to a major city.

The full route map includes 25 trips to 16 destinations across Queensland, NSW and Victoria. About 80 per cent of the routes are not currently served by any carrier, and even more are not served by a lowcost option such as Jetstar.

Mr Jordan said he was confident Bonza would not launch too late to capitalise on Australia’s tourism recovery.

“I think the industry has had a revolting two years,” he said.

“The sooner we can bounce back as a tourism industry the better, but I think the pent-up demand built up over the last few years is going to take a lot longer to burn out than a couple of months.”

Daniel Gschwind, Chief Executive, Queensland Tourism Industry Council