Queensland tourism businesses could be forced to cut hours, close kitchens early and turn away holidaymakers this Christmas, the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) has warned, with 44 days to go until the summer school holidays and the Working Holiday Makers who staff the state’s peak season still facing uncertainty.
Tourism Research Australia data analysed by QTIC shows working holiday visitor numbers to Australia have grown by 34 per cent since 2019. Over the same period Queensland has grown by just 3.5 per cent, and Tropical North Queensland has fallen by 16 per cent. Queensland’s share of the nation’s working holiday visitors has dropped from 50 per cent to around 39 per cent.
Working Holiday Makers account for around 26 per cent of all international visitor nights in Queensland, and 35 per cent in Tropical North Queensland.
QTIC CEO Natassia Wheeler said operators were rostering their summer teams now, and many still did not know whether the travellers they were counting on would be able to stay.
“Nobody wants to cancel Christmas. But when a business can’t find staff, that’s what it starts to look like: shorter opening hours, fewer tours running and families turned away at the door,” Wheeler said.
“Summer is when a lot of Queensland small businesses earn the money that carries them through quieter months. In 44 days, families will be heading to our beaches, islands and theme parks, and businesses need to know they will have the people to look after them.”
“Nationally, working holiday visitor numbers are up by a third on 2019. Queensland has barely moved, and Tropical North Queensland has gone backwards. National growth doesn’t tell you whether a regional business can find the staff it needs.”
QTIC’s opposition to the proposed caps and ballots for second and third-year visas has not changed. Alongside Queensland’s regional tourism organisations, QTIC is in constructive discussions with the Federal Government and has put forward a joint set of practical solutions.
“We appreciate the Government’s willingness to sit down with industry and work through this. We still oppose caps and ballots, but we’ve come to the table with solutions that would give travellers and businesses the certainty they need,” Wheeler said.
QTIC and the regional tourism organisations have offered to increase the regional work Working Holiday Makers must complete for a second-year visa from 88 to 120 days, in return for a guaranteed second year. Travellers would still be able to combine work across employers and regions to reach the total.
“We’re prepared to ask more of travellers, as long as they get certainty in return. A month more in a regional community means extra help for local businesses through the season, but only if the traveller knows that work will count,” Wheeler said.
QTIC and Queensland’s regional tourism organisations are also calling on the Federal Government to:
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Decide visas quickly: Set a published 14-day target for complete, straightforward regional visa applications, and let travellers keep working while they wait.
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Look after those already here: Honour the current rules for travellers who have started or finished their regional work, so they are not pushed into a ballot part-way through.
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Guarantee the path for those who do the work: Give travellers who complete their regional work a guaranteed second-year visa and a fair path to a third year, rather than a place in a ballot.
“Every week without an answer is another week travellers spend choosing someone else for their working holiday. If someone does the work in a regional community, they should know where they stand. That certainty matters to the traveller, the business that has rostered them for summer and the community they’re part of,” Wheeler said.
