2010 a year Tourism Queensland will never forget

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This was published 13 years ago

2010 a year Tourism Queensland will never forget

The past financial year is one Tourism Queensland (TQ) will never forget.

It ranged from the depths of the global financial crisis, swine flu, natural disasters and the impact of a strong Australian dollar, to the heady heights of worldwide acclaim for the Best Job in The World, hailed as the most successful global promotion for any product ever.

In the organisation's annual report, TQ Chairman Don Morris, says it was a year of "unprecedented extremes" with the pincer effect of the downturn in global travel and the surging Aussie dollar taking its toll on more than 115,000 tourism-related businesses around the state.

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"Some destinations, such as Tropical North Queensland, being far more reliant on air access and international visitors than any other, did it particularly tough," he said.

"Queensland tourism, more than in any other state, is dependent on air access. It was therefore heartening that 2009/10 saw growth in both domestic and international air capacity into Queensland, demonstrating real confidence in our industry's future.

"The most heartening was the announcement in June that China Southern Airlines would commence three flights per week between Guangzhou and Brisbane from November 2010, adding 3600 seats into Queensland per month."

But the big star was without question the Best Job in The World campaign which was responsible for making 2009/10 TQ's most awarded year ever.

One of the biggest challenges for the industry has been the strength of the Aussie dollar, which CEO Anthony Hayes said made the home-grown product less competitive internationally and drove Australians overseas in ever-increasing numbers in one of the industry's toughest years ever.

Mr Hayes also made reference to the year of hard work TQ has put into its first new brand for 12 years and its first ever global brand - Queensland, where Australia shines - which was launched on the Gold Coast on Tuesday.

And following up on the Best Job promotion, a new global project targeting the incentive travel market will launch early in 2011.

AAP

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