THE presence of Queensland at World Travel Market will provide a curtain-raiser to the trade that is travelling to Cairns this month for the ABTAConvention, as well as a useful platform to update visitors on the latest product developments.
Next year is expected to be one of the most productive for Queensland’s tourism industry following the convention and the spin-off from the Sydney Olympics next September.
Queensland Tourism manager UK/Ireland and Scandinavia Larry Monk said: “The staging of the ABTA Convention in tropical northern Queensland is a major initiative for us and we’re all ready to welcome more than 1,630 delegates to the event.
“We’re particularly pleased with the very good take-up of pre and post-convention tours which will give the UK trade a great insight into the region.
“We also expect further initiatives to come to fruition in 2000 both before and after the Olympics and anticipate a tremendous flow of visitors to Queensland during the year,” he added.
According to the results of a survey conducted to assess the impact of the Games, Queensland is set to attract the lion’s share with 50% of Olympic visitors.
The Olympic Effect, a report commissioned by the Tourism Forecasting Council, added that an extra 1.6m people are expected to visit the country between now and 2004 as a result of the Games.
About half of these are forecast to take in Queensland, resulting in an extra 746,000 people and translating into 10m additional visitor nights.
Monk is keen to promote the state’s involvement in the actual Games, with the capital Brisbane hosting six preliminary matches and a quarter final of the Olympic football tournament – the only event to be played outside Sydney.
Queensland is also Australia’s largest pre-Games training base in the lead-up to the Olympics. More than 124 sporting teams comprising 1,800 athletes from 15 countries – including the British contingent – will train in regions throughout Queensland.
After Ayers Rock in the Northern Territory, Queensland will also be the next state to host the Olympic 2000 Torch Relay as a prelude to the start of the event.
It passes through 175 towns and cities from June 9-28. Highlights en route include carrying the torch in a scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef, journeying on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway in Cairns and travelling aboard the Great South Pacific Express between Mackay and Proserine on the coast.