Counting down the days ... grey nomads will eventually be free to explore Queensland again.
Like all parts of the country, Queensland is really feeling the effects of the effective eradication of the tourism industry … and is eagerly anticipating a time when travellers can once again hit the open road,
Tourism and Events Queensland’s Chief Executive Officer Leanne Coddington said it was too early to predict when travel will be the back on the agenda … but she had no doubt that the good times would roll again.
“Travel has become a key part of our lives, whether for leisure, business, education or to visit friends and family all over the world,” she said. “That desire will remain post-Covid-19 and Queensland’s tourism and events industry will certainly warmly welcome the return of visitors.”
Ms Coddington said the organisation was already working on plans to re-enter markets when the time is right.
“That is likely to be Queenslanders holidaying at home first, followed by Australians crossing state borders, where we expect to see a strong desire to reconnect with people and places as we all emerge from our social isolation,” she said. “Road trips throughout Queensland have always been popular with grey nomads and we expect these travellers to have a strong desire to return to road travel quite quickly.”
She said that Outback Queensland in particular relied in grey nomads and that in due course it hoped to build in the hugely successful ‘Year of Outback Tourism’ in 2019.
“Events are also a growing driver of visitation right across the state, and popular on the trails of many grey nomads,” she said. “Such events will also be an important part of our industry’s recovery when the time comes.”
Ms Coddington praised the creativity and innovation of the tourism industry in responding to the impacts of Covid-19 citing examples such as virtual music festivals and marathons to educational webinars from the reef and live streaming sunshine to share some calm and positivity.
“While this has been extremely tough on our industry, these examples remind us how resilient our industry is, particularly in Queensland,” she said. “Queensland offers so many experiences and opportunities for reconnection, with stunning natural landscapes ranging from the wide open spaces of Outback Queensland to the underwater wonderland of the Great Barrier Reef.
If you are going to travel around with the gripes for the rest of your days it won’t be much fun…!
Loosen up, Love life and be Happy..you only get one life, so try and enjoy it and ride with the positives. Cheers
Well said Pat, people should learn to stop taking life too seriously after all “No one gets out alive”.
Yes will be good to see the rolling economy moving again
They are such a blessing to many a town
Let us all hope that the proprietors of said towns and attractions such as caravan parks have not been sitting on their hands waiting for a Government handout. Now is the time to start “tzzying up” so that the welcome will be a real attraction.