Supercars help drive Tropical North Queensland tourism toward $5B and 50,000 jobs

Supercars help drive Tropical North Queensland tourism toward $5B and 50,000 jobs

The Watpac Townsville 400 is helping to drive Tropical North Queensland tourism toward a $5 billion industry and a supporter of 50,000 jobs, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

Travelling to Townsville, the Premier said her Government secured an agreement, in 2016, for Supercars to continue the Townsville 400 and Gold Coast 600 in Queensland through to 2019.

“The Townsville 400 is a major tourism drawcard for North Queensland and a welcome boost to Townsville’s economy,” she said.

“Last year, this event drew in more than 134,000 visitors to Queensland, with more than 121,000 direct visitor nights and injected $34 million to the Queensland economy.

North Queensland tourism is already a $4.7 billion industry, supporting approximately 45,600 jobs, with more than 1.5 million visitors to Townsville alone in 2015–16.

“Major events like Townsville 400 help drive North Queensland tourism further faster,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Tourism is booming in Queensland. We saw international visitor numbers to Tropical North Queensland exceed 900,000, another record high.”

“My Government recognises the importance of the tourism industry to Queensland’s economy, and that is why we committed an extra $47 million to Tourism and Events Queensland in 2020-21 through the State Budget delivered last month.”