Home tourism blitz delivers some hope for struggling tourism operators

Within days of the Palaszczuk government’s recent marketing flash in NSW and Victoria, hundreds of thousands of Australians have visited Queensland.com to book a Queensland vacation.

Data released today also show that the Palaszczuk government’s recent domestic tourism campaign (announced on Sunday) provides an increase in flight bookings.

However, incumbent Prime Minister Steven Miles warned that a domestic marketing campaign by the state government could ever fill the void the Prime Minister has left if he plans to cut JobKeeper in March.

“We are investing in domestic tourism to help local businesses deal with this pandemic,” he said.

“We’ve had more than half a million page views on Queensland.com.

“And we see that this campaign has a direct impact on flight bookings that will help pump money into our economy over Easter.”

In January 2021, Queensland.com drew more than 622,000 website visitors – the highest monthly traffic in more than two years.

The flight plans show that the major airlines will collectively be operating 299,000 domestic flights to Queensland per week by the end of February – almost twice as many as planned in November.

“Today’s data shows that our recent domestic marketing campaign is working and supporting local jobs in key markets such as Cairns, Whitsundays and Gold Coast,” said the acting Prime Minister.

“But we can’t do it alone. So today I call on the Prime Minister to extend JobKeeper beyond March. “

Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the Palaszczuk government had provided more than three quarters of a billion dollars in funding to help Queensland tourism companies deal with the pandemic.

“I welcome Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s announcement that the federal government is considering some form of targeted support for industries affected by the ongoing closure of the international border,” said Hinchliffe.

“Tourism companies have a hard time because they depend on foreign tourists who are currently unable to enter the country.

“Prior to the pandemic, Queensland welcomed 2.7 million international tourists each year who contributed $ 6 billion to the state’s economy.

“Cairns attracted 800,000 overseas visitors a year before COVID, representing a profit of more than $ 1 billion.

“The tourism companies don’t want to lay off staff and don’t ask for a blank check, just a hand up until international visitors can return.

“The federal government can save jobs in regional Queensland and make tourism companies concerned by showing how their targeted aid plans might work and who would be eligible.

“We are excited to work with the federal government to ensure that the tourism industry remains viable until Australia is vaccinated and can open its border to the rest of the world.”

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