Only half the holiday vouchers handed out to winners of the Palaszczuk government competition designed to boost Queensland’s struggling tourism sector resulted in actual bookings, with 42,000 winners failing to redeem their vouchers.
The Premier had hoped the Holiday Dollars travel vouchers would encourage Queenslanders to holiday at home after tourism suffered a $12 billion dollar blow in 2020 as domestic and international border closures shut out millions of potential visitors.
Just 39,211 of the 81,000 vouchers for 50 % off accommodation or experiences in Cairns, Brisbane, the Whitsundays and the Gold Coast were used.
Many users complained on the Premier’s Facebook page about the prices of experiences available, of having to choose from a provided list of operators and difficulties applying.