Tourism marketing drive for QLD in wake of ex-TC Alfred

Despite some imagery widely disseminated on social media of certain Gold Coast beaches where sand has been swept out to sea, causing natural cliffs to form in the sand dunes, such effects are not generalised across the whole coast and affected beaches have already reopened with restoration works underway. 

The Queensland Government launched a major marketing campaign to support the state’s $34.7 billion tourism industry, with Australia’s three leading airlines releasing sales to Queensland destinations over the next four weeks for before, during, and after the Easter holidays.

Meanwhile, Tourism and Events Queensland’s (TEQ) ‘Too Great to Wait’ campaign will promote holidays deals on Queensland.com. 

With the Queensland Government’s support, the Brisbane Economic Development Agency, Experience Gold Coast and Visit Sunshine Coast will also lead targeted campaigns drive demand, showcasing their regions as must-visit destinations.  

Environment and Tourism Minister Andrew Powell says Queensland’s resilience was once again on display during the coverage of extreme weather. 

“Queensland is open and welcoming visitors, and we want all Australians to know it,” Minister Powell says. 

“We’re letting everyone know that Queenslanders are resilient, we’re open for business and we’re an incredible holiday destination. 

“Tourism is an industry that brings $95 million a day into our economy. It’s a vital economic pillar and this investment is key to reinvigorating the industry.”

Minister Powell says strong airline partnerships, targeted marketing and unbeatable holiday deals are making it “easier than ever for people to choose Queensland for their next trip”.

“If you’ve been dreaming of a holiday, make it a Queensland holiday,” he says.

Tourism and Events Queensland’s Ollie Philpot says the aviation industry’s swift support is instrumental in Queensland’s tourism recovery. 

“The Qantas Group and Virgin Australia were eager to come on board and help Queensland bounce back,” Philpot says. 

“These airline partnerships will provide compelling reasons for travellers to choose Queensland, helping businesses get back on their feet and ensuring our industry recovers strongly. 

“We know Queenslanders love to explore their own backyard, and these campaigns will also help drive local travel, ensuring economic benefits are felt state-wide.”

Visit Sunshine Coast (VSC) CEO Matt Stoeckel says the state government has been true to its word that there will be “no daylight between response and recovery” with a comprehensive tourism recovery program.

“While the Sunshine Coast avoided much damage as a result of Alfred, tens of thousands of people still cancelled their holiday plans,” Stoeckel says.

“Many tourism businesses have really suffered. I hadn’t seen hotels that empty since the pandemic.

“A huge issue is also that forward bookings have dried up. People are understandably cautious about booking holidays when they needn’t be, and we will be using this additional funding to get visitors flowing again to limit the loss to our industry.”

Stoeckel says Visit Sunshine Coast has made “impressive progress” in getting out the message out through its “Real Time” social media campaign to get people travelling again by showing people exactly what the Sunshine Coast looks like right now.

“While this has helped build back traveller confidence, our operators are calling for more urgent support to recoup losses from the disruption caused by Alfred, and this government funding will help us expand our range of promotional initiatives,” he says.

“We have a great story to tell. Our world-class beaches of Noosa and Mooloolaba are looking good and big events such as the Noosa Festival of Surfing and the Mooloolaba Tri later this month are showing we’re in good shape, we just need to get that message out more widely.”

Over the weekend Experience Gold Coast announced its “spend and get’’ voucher reward program to continue to drive the visitor economy in the lead up to the Easter and April school holidays, in combination with the national marketing campaign alongside discounted flights and accommodation.

“This campaign is about reminding people why we all love the Gold Coast and that we are open for business,’’ says Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate.

“The City of Gold Coast is proud to support this campaign, and we commend the State Government for also showing they are right behind our beautiful city.

“There is no doubt our city will bounce back, and our iconic beaches will return to their former glory ready to welcome the millions of holidaymakers who choose our destination each year.”

Experience Gold Coast CEO John Warn says the impact of the weather event is not yet fully known, but “we know it has been severe and widespread”.

“Our Impact Survey shows tourism operators, accommodation providers and restaurants and cafes have been hit hard with almost half of them closed for more than 7 days. In the week of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred alone, the estimated lost in visitor spend was $42 million,” he says.

“We are projecting a 20 per cent average drop in occupancy on the Gold Coast across the month of March, which we estimate will be a loss of $ million in overnight expenditure.”

These figures does not include the impact of day trippers, with close to one million people normally visiting the Gold Coast over the month of March.

The survey found 89 per cent of businesses experienced immediate cancellation, with 75 per cent losing forward bookings.

“This is why it is so important for everyone to get behind the Gold Coast and get out and enjoy everything it has to offer. Our operators need the love,’’ Warn says.

He adds that supporting the visitor economy is a key priority, and the organisation is working hard behind the scenes on advocacy and support, but it need the community’s help to restore confidence for visitors to the Gold Coast.

“Visitors inject more than $7 billion annually into the Gold Coast economy, creating jobs and opportunities for our community, and we all need to come together and protect this industry and show the rest of Queensland and Australia that we are back in business,” Warn says.

“There is so much to enjoy and experience in our city, whether it’s food, arts, entertainment or time out in the hinterland, we want you to show and share your love for the Gold Coast.”

Further north, Queensland’s Fraser Coast was also impacted by the weather event but the head of the area’s regional tourism organisation says all tour operators are “ready to go”.

Fraser Coast Tourism and Events CEO Martin Simons says floodwaters entered the basement carparks of some prominent high-rise hotels, but these only represent 5- per cent of total accommodation rooms.

“There’s still plenty of accommodation here,” Simons notes.

“We’re a smaller region but very pristine and one of the most beautiful regions on the coast. We’re part of the ‘Too Great to Wait’ campaign, there’s a TQ (Tourism Queensland) team taking images on Lake Mackenzie on K’gari (Fraser Island) today.

“That’s a statewide campaign and we’re hoping to see some direct flood initiatives for this region, based on the fact that we’ve still got all our experiences all ready to go.

“But certainly we’re seeing some issue on bookings as has happened in the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. It’s a combined effect, in my mind, from from the cost of living crunch and also people seeing images of devastation.”

Simons adds that Fraser Coast Tourism and Events hopes to participate in the flight incentive aspect of the campaign.

“We’ve got direct flights to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, and I know that TEQ on our behalf is batting to have Fraser Coast included in the flight incentive campaign. That’s up to the airlines to a certain extent because we are a smaller place, we’re not a mainstream port like Gold Coast or Brisbane, or even the Sunshine Coast which is getting direct flights from NZ,” he says.

“Everyone’s looking forward to a strong Easter, but I think the incentive campaigns are needed to help as much for the cost of living crunch, as well as the cyclone.”