Queensland is implementing a tourism plan that will take it decades into the future to ensure it does not waste the opportunity the Olympics and Paralympics provides, according to the state’s Minister of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, Andrew Powell.
Speaking at the Australian Tourism Exchange this week, Powell insisted that if Queensland failed to achieve significant tourism increases, both in the lead up to, during, and after the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the project would be deemed unsuccessful.
“We are making sure that our products and experiences are ready for when the tourists come,” Powell explained.
“As a government, we are working on a 20-year tourism plan – we are going to 2045 and are making sure that everything you possibly need to have ready and waiting for you will be ready and waiting for you.
“We will have those connections, we will get you around our state, we will have the products and experiences and the holidays that you are looking for.”
Hosting the Olympics and Paralympics has to be about more than just sports, Powell admitted, suggesting the benefits will have a long tail effect that could be taken advantage of well before the Games begin.
“We want you to come before the Games, we want you to come during the Games and we want you to come after the Games – if we don’t achieve that, then we have wasted the opportunity of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“The Olympics are not just about hosting sport, they are about growing our infrastructure and about our tourism legacy, and that is what we are really excited about over the next seven years in the lead up to our hosting,” he concluded.
Australia’s recent past includes a missed opportunity around major sporting events, with the Jul 2023 announcement from Victoria that it rescinded the rights to host the Commonwealth Games for 2026, citing substantially increased costs.
Qld also faced its own criticism about the initial budget for the 2032 Games blowing out, causing infrastructure revisions.
