26 September 2023

Ekka’s long weekend a boost for tourism

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A new long-weekend holiday planned for the end of October is expected to pump tens of millions of dollars into the State’s struggling tourism sector.

The holiday was planned when the Ekka Show, and its accompanying holiday, were cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk said People’s Day would become People’s Long Weekend on Friday 29 October.

“Ekka is where the bush meets the city,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“This gives the city the chance to go to the bush, the beach or the rainforest,” she said.

“By creating a long weekend in October, we’re giving thousands of Queenslanders a chance to explore their own State.

She said the tourism industry had had a tough year.

“The Delta variant of the pandemic has had an impact on our economy and many businesses are struggling more than ever,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Last year’s cancellation of the Ekka Show saw its public holiday moved from 12 August to 14 August.

Minister for Industrial Relations, Grace Grace said that long weekend led to a 31 per cent surge in Queenslanders holidaying at home and a 62 per cent surge in the amount of money spent by Queenslanders in the State.

“We know first-hand the benefits that carefully-selected public holidays can deliver for local businesses,” Ms Grace said.

“We’ve consulted closely with tourism operators, stakeholders and businesses and picked 29 October because we believe this date will deliver local businesses the financial boost that they need,” she said.

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