Queensland school holiday hotspots booked two years out
Announcement posted by FNQ Apartments 12 Sep 2016
MANY school holiday tourists to Far North Queensland (FNQ) have missed out on staying in their favourite places as many apartments have been booked out up to two years in advance.
FNQ Apartments Owner Brenda Campbell said with Queensland school holidays from September 17 to October 3, many people are already booking up to a few years out.
She said international terrorist threats and safety fears were leading increasing numbers of tourists to holiday in far north Queensland.
She said in the past seven years that she has been booking accommodation for tourists in her business, she had never seen accommodation booked out so far in advance.
“For the really popular properties and apartments, you need to book up to two years in advance,” Mrs Campbell said.
“Christmas 2017 is booked out already for favourite apartments such as pool access apartments at Beach Club in Palm Cove and Port Douglas.
“In buildings with lifts and swim outs like at Sea Temple Palm Cove & Port Douglas, you better get in early too or you’ll miss out.”
She said many people from the southern Australian states particularly wanted to escape the winter chill by holidaying in far north Queensland destinations such as Cairns, Port Douglas, Palm Cove, Trinity Beach and many people said they felt safer travelling in Australia with terrorism threats a concern.
“Many people have changed flights because they can’t get accommodation. This year there is so much more of that,” Mrs Campbell said.
The trends are in line with Wotif school holiday data, which found four of the top 10 regional holiday destinations were in North Queensland.
Cairns and Cairns Northern Beaches were found to be the top regional school destinations in Australia.
Tourism Research Australia (TRA) statistics have also shown a sharp rise in tourism numbers to far north Queensland.
Tropical North Queensland (TNQ) international visitors in the year ending March 2016 were 830,000, up 13% from the previous year. Their expenditure in the region was $1.1 billion, up 13% from the previous year.
“TNQ is the most popular destination in the state for international holiday travellers (772,000), followed by the Gold Coast (751,000),” the research shows.
Domestic visitation and expenditure in Tropical North Queensland increased strongly in the year to March 2016, while visitor nights in the region also increased.
Strong results in both intrastate (up 27.5%) and interstate (47.1%) visitation boosted overall growth to the region.
Mrs Campbell said most people who booked through FNQ Apartments came from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, with smaller numbers from Adelaide, Perth, Canada, the US, Europe, UK and New Zealand.
“People are worried about terrorism and the volcano in Bali. People don’t feel as safe about Bali as they used to.”
She said people coming for longer holidays for up to three month stays had really increased this year as well as groups of families travelling together and booking 3-4 self contained apartments at a time.
Far north Queensland is known for its beautiful world heritage Daintree National Park, Great Barrier Reef, Atherton tableland, Mossman Gorge and crocodile tours.
“There are so many things to love about the area. Life is like a permanent holiday because the area is so beautiful,” Mrs Campbell said.
For more details, call 1300 731 620 or visit www.fnqapartments.com
FNQ Apartments Owner Brenda Campbell said with Queensland school holidays from September 17 to October 3, many people are already booking up to a few years out.
She said international terrorist threats and safety fears were leading increasing numbers of tourists to holiday in far north Queensland.
She said in the past seven years that she has been booking accommodation for tourists in her business, she had never seen accommodation booked out so far in advance.
“For the really popular properties and apartments, you need to book up to two years in advance,” Mrs Campbell said.
“Christmas 2017 is booked out already for favourite apartments such as pool access apartments at Beach Club in Palm Cove and Port Douglas.
“In buildings with lifts and swim outs like at Sea Temple Palm Cove & Port Douglas, you better get in early too or you’ll miss out.”
She said many people from the southern Australian states particularly wanted to escape the winter chill by holidaying in far north Queensland destinations such as Cairns, Port Douglas, Palm Cove, Trinity Beach and many people said they felt safer travelling in Australia with terrorism threats a concern.
“Many people have changed flights because they can’t get accommodation. This year there is so much more of that,” Mrs Campbell said.
The trends are in line with Wotif school holiday data, which found four of the top 10 regional holiday destinations were in North Queensland.
Cairns and Cairns Northern Beaches were found to be the top regional school destinations in Australia.
Tourism Research Australia (TRA) statistics have also shown a sharp rise in tourism numbers to far north Queensland.
Tropical North Queensland (TNQ) international visitors in the year ending March 2016 were 830,000, up 13% from the previous year. Their expenditure in the region was $1.1 billion, up 13% from the previous year.
“TNQ is the most popular destination in the state for international holiday travellers (772,000), followed by the Gold Coast (751,000),” the research shows.
Domestic visitation and expenditure in Tropical North Queensland increased strongly in the year to March 2016, while visitor nights in the region also increased.
Strong results in both intrastate (up 27.5%) and interstate (47.1%) visitation boosted overall growth to the region.
Mrs Campbell said most people who booked through FNQ Apartments came from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, with smaller numbers from Adelaide, Perth, Canada, the US, Europe, UK and New Zealand.
“People are worried about terrorism and the volcano in Bali. People don’t feel as safe about Bali as they used to.”
She said people coming for longer holidays for up to three month stays had really increased this year as well as groups of families travelling together and booking 3-4 self contained apartments at a time.
Far north Queensland is known for its beautiful world heritage Daintree National Park, Great Barrier Reef, Atherton tableland, Mossman Gorge and crocodile tours.
“There are so many things to love about the area. Life is like a permanent holiday because the area is so beautiful,” Mrs Campbell said.
For more details, call 1300 731 620 or visit www.fnqapartments.com