Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

In respect of the recent disasters I want to emphasise that, while there was some impact on Queensland, Queensland is open for business. The vast majority of Queensland tourism facilities are open and operating. We have provided $12 million for a tourism industry assistance package and there have been a number of other initiatives. The first booking figures from the online travel company Orbitz since the screening of Oprah’s Australian shows reveal spending on bookings from the US to Australia have increased by almost 10 per cent and the hotel reservations have risen by 13.6 per cent.