Tourism remains a driving force in regions across Queensland, with new data showing the industry employs more than 235,000 people and pumps more than $27 billion into the state’s economy.
Tourism Research Australia has today released the 2017-18 Regional Tourism Satellite Accounts, breaking down the contribution of tourism to all individual tourism regions in Australia.
Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said the new figures emphasised the important role tourism played in Queensland, with growth recorded across all regions.
“More tourists means more jobs. That’s why we’re working so hard to grow this sector. Today’s data shows our strategy is working,” she said.
The data released today showed Gross Regional Product had grown by 7.8 per cent while jobs had grown by nearly 10 per cent.
“Our regional areas rely heavily on tourism, contributing eight per cent of total Gross Regional Product and employing 105,700 people – that’s one in nine jobs,” Ms Jones said.
“In some regions like Cairns and the Whitsundays, this goes up to one in five jobs and one in three jobs, representing around a quarter of the Whitsundays economy.”
Ms Jones said the Palaszczuk Government was seeing strong results in the tourism sector because it had restored $188 million cut by the LNP and invested more in the sector than any other government in Queensland’s history.
“We’re working with operators to ensure we’re delivering the best experiences for consumers, investing in new attractions and infrastructure and growing aviation access into Queensland,” she said.
“We are also continuing to build our calendar of events, supporting existing events that we know attract visitors and bringing new events exclusively to Queensland.
“Over the last five years, we’ve more than doubled the value of Queensland’s event’s calendar. It continues to grow and next year will generate $880 million for our state.”
