Far North Tourism Operators Beg For December Reopening

A group of key Far North tourism operators are worried Christmas will be cancelled without a firm border re-opening date.

Banding together, Quicksilver, Capta Group and Sailaway are calling upon Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to “name a deadline” with a December target commitment, to capture holiday trade.

Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The Queensland Briefing - keeping you in the loop with the news as it hits.

Operators believe a set date to bring down the border may give Queensland's lagging vaccination rate a boost.

Quicksilver boss Tony Baker said the industry needs some "targets to hit", so they have something to build towards.

“A deadline will give us an indication as to when we can see easing of restrictions and interstate borders, because we also need time to prepare our businesses for that.

“Our key markets need time to prepare their holidays.”

Meanwhile, Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief Mark Olsen warns “Christmas will be cancelled” unless clear indicators are delivered for tourism operators.

“There are six public holidays during the Christmas period which significantly increases costs for businesses and with less people around it will be cost prohibitive to open,” he said. 

“The tourism industry desperately needs an influx of visitors in summer to retain jobs and keep businesses trading until borders open," he said. 

“Equally important for our economy will be a road map to give consumers the confidence to book and businesses the ability to secure staff and plan when to open.”

Queensland’s vaccine uptake indicates that 70.2 per cent of eligible people have now received their first dose, while 52.7 per cent of residents aged over 16 are fully vaccinated.

Join Tom Tilley with regular rotating co-hosts Jan Fran, Annika Smethurst and Jamila Rizvi on The Briefing, Monday - Saturday, for the day's headlines and breaking news as well as hot topics and interviews. Available on Listnr.