Published on 02/03/2016 by Punchmedia

Queensland Leads Early Tourism Increase

Recording its best start to the year in more than a decade, arguably Australia's most famous tourist destination, the Great Barrier Reef, is enjoying the country's continued increase in tourism activity in 2016.

The current Australian tourism boom, in particular for Queensland businesses, also drove double-digit increases for operators and hotel investors in Cairns (14.2 per cent) and the Gold Coast (11.4 per cent).

At Hamilton Island, in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef, occupancy rates hit 91 per cent in January, up from 84 per cent at the same time last year.

While much has been made of the record influx of Chinese and other Asian tourists to Australia last year and early in 2016, Hamilton Island operators the Oatley family, said 80 per cent of visitors to the island were local holidaymakers or corporate guests.

"More people are having holidays here, and there's also been a spike in the conference market, which we cater for very well on the island, so the lower dollar is helping drive a diverse range of guests,'' head of the family business Sandy Oatley explained.

Mr Oatley said the remaining 20 per cent of visitors was split between international guests led by those from the US, Britain and Europe. He said Chinese visitors made up around 2.5 per cent of guests although those numbers were on the rise.

JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group said both the Tropical North Queensland markets of Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, and the Gold Coast market at the southern end, were benefiting from large numbers of Chinese visitors and an increase in airline capacity overall.

It's believed these markets will continue to benefit from additional services being offered by Hong Kong Airlines in the first quarter of the year, while the Great Barrier Reef is sure to gain increased traffic on the back of Sir David Attenborough's recent documentary, featuring the world's largest coral reef system.

Across the Barrier Reef, occupancy rates soared towards 90 per cent and guests spent on average $500 a night to stay in some of its iconic facilities.

Outside of the resort market, the JLL/STR Global figures showed strength across all hotel markets, reflecting the most buoyant tourism conditions in decades.

Hotel returns were up 18 per cent at the Sydney Airport Precinct, where numerous new Sydney hotels are under development. High end five star Sydney hotels, which are already trading at record occupancy and room rates, rose a healthy 6 per cent according to figures.

Melbourne's five-star hotel market was up 6.5 per cent and Hobart recorded a strong 6.2 per cent increase.

* With AFR

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Curtis is a leading expert in the business-for-sale industry, serving as a senior content creator at anybusiness.com.au.

With a career spanning over fifteen years, Curtis has accumulated extensive knowledge in the domain of business sales, acquisitions, and valuations. His deep understanding of market dynamics and his ability to translate complex industry jargon into accessible insights make him a trusted resource for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to buy or sell businesses.

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