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Peak Industry body, the Accommodation Association welcomes the Queensland Government – Tourism Tropical North Queensland Cairns Holiday Dollars initiative but warns it must be extended to the accommodation sector. 15000 Queenslanders can now apply for the $200 vouchers to use at tourism attractions in the state’s far north. Lucky recipients will enjoy a 50 per cent discount on the cost of eligible tourism attractions up to the value of $200.

It’s the first time the Queensland Government has offered vouchers to boost and support the tourism industry and the forecast benefit is extra visitor spend of up to $14 million for the Cairns and Great Barrier Reef economy.

Facts:

  • The Accommodation Association represents close to 3,500 hotels, motels and accommodation providers, over 150,000 rooms and nearly 100,000 employees across Australia (pre COVID) and over 1600 operators in Queensland.
  • Accommodation contributes $17 billion to the Australian economy and $3.2 Billion to the Queensland economy.

 Quotes from Accommodation Association CEO Dean Long (who is available for interview)
“We applaud the Queensland Government for working together with Tourism Tropical North Queensland on this urgently needed shot in the arm of for the tourism sector in Far North Queensland.”

“With no international tourism for close to a year, Australia’s tourism sector and the hotels, motels and accommodation providers who support it are desperate. Without financial support and economic stimulus measures, however our sector is struggling and will continue to struggle.”

“With JobKeeper coming to an end, and with no end to the ban on international travel in sight, we are grateful for initiatives like the Cairns Holiday Dollars program and we welcome the planned extension of the campaign to other parts of Queensland but we need it to also cover accommodation. Similar campaigns in other states have worked well and we desperately need ongoing support to keep the sector alive.”

The Accommodation Association
The Accommodation Association represents over 80% of all known accommodation providers from small regional parks, caravan parks, serviced apartments and resorts through to the largest hotel groups in the world including Accor, Hilton, Wyndham Destinations and IHG.
(https://www.aaoa.com.au/About-Us/The-Association)