JUNE 5 2011 Page 55ST

AGENDADavid Penberthy

Plumbingnew depths

in debateP61

thesundaymail.com.au 55

High drama

KELMENY FRASERConsumer affairs

The Aussie dollar is on a roll against the once mighty

greenback. It’s crashed through parity and may hit $1.50.

But that doesn’t mean everyone in Queensland is happy

Perfect one day: Queensland’stourism industry has been hit hardand closure of the Couran CoveIsland Resort is just the latest blow.

THE turbocharged Australian dollarwill remain at near-record highs foryears, say experts, but not allQueenslanders are celebrating.

While shoppers take advantage ofthe dazzling climb of the Aussiedollar by snapping up online bargainsand booking trips to exotic overseaslocations, a string of local industrieshave been left struggling to limit thehip-pocket pain.

Shrinking numbers of overseastourists, a surge in Australianholidaymakers all making a beelinefor international airports, the soaringpopularity of online shopping, cheapimports and a growing black hole forexporters struggling to compete withcheap imports have left local busi-nesses reeling.

Farmers, tourism operators andlocal manufacturers are bearing the

brunt as the dollar continues to sitabove parity, at $US1.06.

University of Queensland econ-omist John Quiggan said it would beyears before it dropped back to alower rate.

‘‘Over the last year we have had anoticeable jump over the top of a longrise over a decade or more,’’ Mr

Quiggan said. ‘‘There is nothing tosay that these conditions won’t per-sist for some years to come,’’ he said.

Among those hardest hit areQueensland tourism operators strug-gling to compete with low-cost hol-iday destinations in Bali, Thailandand Fiji.

Tourism and Transport Industryfigures show an 18 per cent fall invisitor arrivals at Brisbane airport inthe year to March compared with theprevious 12 months.

In the same period, the numberof Australians heading overseasgrew by 9 per cent.

The tourism group’s latest forecastwarns that more than 19 million moreAustralians will fly out than visitorswill fly in during the next decade.

It predicts the national deficit forthe industry will blow out to an

annual $10 billion should the dollarremain at current levels for a longperiod.

Closure of the Couran Cove IslandResort on South Stradbroke Islandafter 13 years of business is the latestblow for the embattled industry.

It comes as Gold Coast tourismoperators brace for a drop in MiddleEast tourists this winter.

The exchange rate and a shift inthe Islamic month of Ramadan,which has shortened this year’straditional holiday season, have beenblamed.

Up to 18,000 tourists usually flockto the Coast to escape searingtemperatures at home.

Lawand Tourism managing direc-tor Toufic Lawand, one of the biggestagents for Middle East trips on theGold Coast, said Middle East

currencies were pegged to the USdollar, making a trip to Australia farmore expensive than to Europe orthe US.

The exchange rate has also lefttourism operators in flagship holidaylocation The Whitsundays strugglingto attract visitors.

Tourism operators in the regionhave reported a drop in visitors of upto 35 per cent compared with thistime last year.

The location lies on the doorstep ofcentral Queensland’s booming min-ing scene, which has helped fuel therise of the dollar.

‘‘What we have here is the classicexample of the two-speed economyand we are living it,’’ Whitsundaystourism operator Adrian Bramsaid.Continued Page 56