Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) is rallying to rescue the state's tourism industry, severely impacted by recent weather events, with a set of new marketing campaigns, funds and promotions.

The storms have wreaked havoc in areas across the state, from the North around Cairns, Port Douglas and Daintree, to the South around the Gold Coast and Mount Tamborine.

TEQ CEO, Patricia O'Callaghan said the tourism body has been working closely with Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ), Experience Gold Coast (EGC) and Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) to assess the damage and provide much-needed support. The losses in bookings to the Northern region alone are estimated by TTNQ to be around $300 million, with occupancy rates plummeting to a low of 20%.

In response, the Queensland and Federal Governments have committed to multimillion-dollar packages of marketing support, to be delivered by TEQ. An initial $5 million in recovery funding has been announced for Cairns and surrounding regions, jointly funded through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

In a bid to boost tourism, TEQ has partnered with Qantas and Jetstar to promote sale fares to the region, with over 13,000 seats already sold.

"The airlines are already reporting more than 13,000 seats sold off the back of this sale which is amazing news for the region and a fantastic outcome," O'Callaghan stated in a TEQ newsletter.

Further partnerships are in the pipeline, with Virgin Australia set to offer more discounted flights in the coming weeks. Discounted accommodation packages will also be available through Qantas Hotels & Holidays, My Queensland and Luxury Escapes.

The $24.25 million Tourism Recovery and Resilience Program will develop a grants program for Far North operators heavily affected by the weather. An additional $3 million has been announced for a tourism and events marketing campaign to attract more visitors back to the region.

South East Queenslanders will have access to 50,000 vouchers worth $50 each to spend on an experience across the city, backed by a government investment of $2.5 million. The Gold Coast, Logan and Scenic Rim regions have been announced clean-up and a $20m recovery packages.

"This summer our tourism operators have been some of the hardest hit here and in Cairns, so it's time we help them get back on their feet," Queensland Premier Steven Miles stated. "My government is proud to support this important package, so more people come to the Coast and take advantage of the fantastic opportunities available.

"That is good news for the economy, good news for jobs and, of course, good news for tourism operators."

TEQ is using media and PR channels to spread the message that Queensland is open for business. Further, a range of activity underway in the North, with national TV coverage across the summer of cricket, full page adverts in major publications in capital cities, morning show weather crosses, media famils and pitching 'open for business' stories to our global media partners.

"On the Gold Coast, we have leveraged our Magic Millions partnership to support the region with a Gold Coast Bulletin event wrap, live crosses with major broadcast partners, and using our PR channels to leverage the sport and media personalities in town to expand exposure," O'Callaghan said.

O'Callaghan remained optimistic about the year ahead, citing the resilience of the Queensland industry and a strong appetite from travellers. She also thanked Katie Page-Harvey and Gerry Harvey and their teams for providing support across their channels and being strong ambassadors of the message that the Gold Coast is open for business.

"While it has been a challenging start to 2024, I am still optimistic about the year ahead. Our Queensland industry is resilient, and we are still seeing strong appetite from travellers to get back to our beautiful regions despite the recent weather events," she said.