This major development comes off the back of many discussions over the past few months with the state government, who share our enthusiasm for seeing tourism’s premier week delivered by industry and carrying with it a strong industry focus. As such, to make sure that this year’s DestinationQ Forum reflects the interests and priorities of industry, we are inviting all those invested in tourism to complete our short DestinationQ survey. As an important member of our industry, I encourage you to join our colleagues in helping to shape the event’s content and speakers by completing the survey before it closes on 14 August.

With tickets and registrations opening 1 September, I hope to see and catch up with many of you during Tourism Week held from 13 to 15 November at the newly built, The Star Brisbane. These major events are a fantastic opportunity to reconnect, hear the latest news and innovations, and to celebrate our combined successes.

While we will certainly celebrate successes later this year, in July, QTIC were also cheering on tourism accomplishments at our 27th Salute to Excellence Awards Ceremony at the Sofitel Brisbane Central. The annual awards program is one of our most inspiring events, where we honour and shine the spotlight on talented secondary students who are studying tourism and hospitality, and where we recognise the teachers and trainers who have dedicated themselves to supporting these talented students on their early career journey. Proud family, friends and colleagues watched on as our industry came together to support the future of Queensland tourism at the Salute to Excellence Awards Ceremony.

I congratulate all the finalists and winners of this year’s awards and I look forward to following their career paths. Whether they are just starting out on their professional journey, or they are seasoned leaders, I applaud their dedication. As many of our award nominees go on to become highly accomplished tourism professionals, I know that our future is bright.