The move to create a long weekend in October by shifting the Ekka public holiday has been hailed by most tourism operators but viewed as a mixed blessing by other venues.
The Queensland government announced on Tuesday the Ekka holiday would be shifted to Friday, October 29th, after the Royal Queensland Show was cancelled for a second year.
The reaction from the tourism and hospitality industry has been mostly positive, however the Queensland Hotels Association said that because Friday is a major trading day for licensed venues, they will now be required to pay their staff public holiday rates.