After a tough few years for tourism operators across Queensland, holidaymakers are back and looking to travel to the Sunshine State.
Ray White Commercial Head of Research Vanessa Rader said with borders opened to domestic and international visitors, there has been a quick sprint to travel again.
“Encouragingly, some of our local coastal markets have re-emerged as holiday hotspots with a rapid resurgence in activity in markets such as Cairns and the Gold Coast,” Ms Rader said.
“After never before seen lows in occupancy, these locations have seen good levels of recovery, most notably during the school holiday periods.”
Ms Rader said occupancy rates had rebounded strongly across Queensland as travellers returned.
“Most recently, during the September/October holiday period, we saw Gold Coast occupancy at approximately 76 per cent, which is inline with monthly results pre COVID-19,” she said.
“Annual rates continue to lag behind these, but are anticipated to recover as we continue to record robust results, particularly with the upcoming Christmas holiday season.”
This has also resulted in robust gains for average daily room rates Ms Rader said.
“Rates were highest in January, peaking at $336.75 per night, and remained strong during the Easter holiday period at $305.36 per night, with the last school holidays averaging $286.47 per night over the two month period,” she said.
“With occupancy rates trending upward, it is expected that this Christmas holiday season is likely to bypass rates achieved historically.”
