While the return of international visitors has been staggered, this year we saw hints of future success, with a shift from international guests travelling to see family and friends, to global holidaymakers finally taking to the skies. Total international overnight visitor expenditure (OVE) grew to $3.6 billion. It should come as no surprise that this figure doubles that of last year, but we still have work to do to rebuild aviation capacity and return to the pre-2019 international OVE of $6 billion.

These challenges and the successes that we, as an industry, have achieved over the past year have been captured in our 2022-2023 Annual Review, which was shared this month at QTIC’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Cairns. The Annual Review provides an insight into the health of our tourism industry, as well as an overview of our advocacy efforts and the industry programs we delivered across the state throughout the year. I invite you to read the Annual Review and gain a deeper understanding of what the QTIC team have achieved in the last financial year.

I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm that the achievements made by QTIC over the past year are your successes. The contributions and longstanding commitment of our corporate partners and members have ensured that Queensland tourism has a strong advocacy presence and that industry-led initiatives are being rolled to assist operators and businesses. Thank you for being a staunch supporter of our tourism industry.

Last week’s AGM also saw the appointment of two member elected Directors to the QTIC Board. I am pleased to share that Abbey Filko, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at Airtrain will join the Board, and incumbent Director and Owner of Paronella Park, Mark Evans will return to the Board. I know that Abbey and Mark will bring a wealth of experience to QTIC.

The month also saw our industry coming together in Cairns for Tourism Week. Close to 300 came together to discuss Indigenous tourism at QTIC’s Destination IQ conference. While more than 800 attended the state’s peak tourism conference DestinationQ and almost 1,000 joined forces to recognise the brightest names and businesses in the state at QTIC’s 38th Queensland Tourism Awards. It was inspiring to see so many of our peers gather to celebrate our collective achievements. I would like to personally congratulate the more than 180 finalists at this years’ Queensland Tourism Awards and the 31 Gold winners. You are all outstanding exemplars of tourism excellence.

As we head into the busy Christmas and New Year’s holiday period, our industry has much to celebrate. I hope you will find a moment to unwind and commemorate these achievements. From the entire team at QTIC, I thank you for your support over the past year. I look forward to working with you in 2024 and to meeting new challenges head on, capiltising on unfolding opportunities and strengthening our tourism industry together.