Extra journey voucher schemes might be rolled out to assist Qld tourism business

Other travel voucher programs could be considered for people wishing to visit troubled areas in Queensland to revitalize the tourism sector.

Queensland Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said Sunday that work was being done in other locations that could benefit from a program similar to that for Cairns, where thousands of Queenslanders were being offered free of charge Travel vouchers worth $ 200 for visiting the tourist hotspot.

Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe. Recognition:Felicity Caldwell

“When we announced the Cairns Vacation Funds, we announced at the time that this would actually be an experiment that we would learn from and examine how to apply and work with tourism authorities and operators elsewhere in Queensland could have been severely affected by the closure of international borders, ”he said.

“We do this, we do this work, we have made some real connections … and we apply that to the work we do with others.”

New data released on Sunday showed that over the long Easter weekend nearly 146,000 people flew into Queensland’s major airports, 38,000 to Cairns, 50,000 to the Gold Coast, 40,000 to Brisbane and 17,900 to the Sunshine Coast.

Mr. Hinchliffe said the search queries on Expedia.de had risen by almost 460 percent compared to last week.

He said the numbers, which came in as of January, also showed a 10 percent increase in spending in the Queensland area from January 2020.

“What we are seeing from the recently released statistics and tourism recovery scenarios report is that Queensland has been identified as the area where recovery will emerge ahead of any other state in Australia,” he said.

“It’s because we have the right products, we have an industry that is positive and works to support great experiences. Most importantly, our message is being heard by people across Australia.”