The Tropical North Queensland tourism industry has welcomed the opening of international borders on February 21.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said setting a date would allow the recovery planning process to begin for the industry.
“The Tropical North Queensland tourism industry has been waiting for two very long years to get back to the business of bringing international visitors to see the Great Barrier Reef and the world’s oldest rainforest,” he said.
“TTNQ will immediately begin working with our trade and airline partners who will finally have the confidence to start planning.
“With our World Heritage areas, rich Indigenous culture and wide open spaces Tropical North Queensland has the opportunity to lead Australia into a tourism recovery.
“We have seen more than $2 billion stripped from our regional economy while international borders were closed and now we can begin the slow and expensive process of rebuilding key markets.
“This will require tens of millions of dollars of investment by governments and the industry to get the industry on the road to recovery and drive aviation partnerships while maintaining domestic share.”