With only one week until Christmas (how exciting!), it’s incredible to reflect on how far our local businesses and community have come since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and to see our tourism industry thriving once again.
Thanks to the reopening of Queensland borders, all Australians and New Zealanders can now holiday in our beautiful backyard – right in time for our peak Summer period.
While we were in lockdown and sadly unable to travel, many of us spent time dreaming of all the amazing places we could go once borders reopened and with this now a reality, people are even more eager to travel this year than they were during holiday’s last year. In fact, a recent holiday intention survey showed that more than 6 in 10 Australians intend to take a domestic holiday over summer, significantly more than 2019. And of those Queenslanders intending to go on a holiday, 77% intend to stay in Queensland. Great news for the Bundaberg region!
With many Queenslanders choosing to support the state’s tourism industry this summer, plus a wealth of Australian’s making our sunny state their holiday destination, accommodation across our region is quickly filling up, restaurants and cafes are welcoming more customers than they have in months, and visitors are excitedly booking their holiday activities. Catching up with friends and family and hitting the beach high on the agenda for many!
It is fantastic to see such a positive outlook for the state’s tourism industry and the benefits this brings to our community. During this busy period, please remember to always be kind, especially while our local businesses are trying their best to make everyone’s holiday season a memorable one!
If you are looking for some local gifts or need some help planning some fun activities for your visiting friends and family, pop into the Visitor Information Centres in Bundaberg, Gin Gin or Childers.
From the team and I at Bundaberg Tourism, we wish you all a happy festive season, we hope that you have the chance to share time in our backyard with the people you love.
Yours in tourism,
Katherine Reid, CEO
PS: If there are other things you would like to see in this column about tourism – let us know on our corporate Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bundabergtourism
