Australia's Brisbane tourism feels flood impact
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Australia's Brisbane tourism industry is feeling the lull after the storm, with forward bookings down since the floods, the city's official marketing body said on Tuesday.
Brisbane Marketing chief executive officer (CEO) John Aitken said although Brisbane is back in business, there's still "undoubtedly" affects on the tourism industry.
"Forward bookings have been quieter than we'd normally expect," Aitken told reporters in Brisbane on Tuesday.
The Jan. 13 flood peak along the Brisbane River made international headlines, swamping 11,900 homes and tourist precincts such as Southbank and parts of New Farm.
Tourism Queensland launched a week-long 664,000 AU dollars (661, 277 U.S. dollars) advertising campaign on Jan. 20, offering discount flights and accommodation to lure visitors to the state.
"We need to be very focused about a regional campaign, specifically to Brisbane and to all the regions that have been affected," Aitken said.
Aitken said an interim report had been compiled, but the full- impact figure won't be known for months.
"We've done a short interim document based on what are the key issues, and our focus at the moment I have to say is getting the message out locally about Brisbane coming back online," he said.
