Queensland’s peak industry body for tourism, Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC), said tourism’s small businesses could be responsible for fuelling a large portion of the state’s economic growth in the coming decades.

QTIC has used the occasion of 2014 Queensland Small Business Week (1 to 6 September) as another opportunity to pay tribute to the significant economic and social contribution of the state’s 55,700 tourism businesses.

QTIC Chief Executive Daniel Gschwind said figures* released by Deloitte showed Queensland was tipped to ‘shoot ahead of the pack’ over the coming decades thanks to tourism and four other key growth sectors.

“Results show the ‘next wave’ economic sectors of tourism, gas, agribusiness, international education and wealth management will help grow Queensland’s economy,” Mr Gschwind said.“Nine out of 10 tourism businesses in Queensland are small enterprises employing less than 20 people.

“No other sector in Queensland has more small businesses than tourism and Small Business Week is an opportunity to pay tribute to the state’s small tourism businesses that collectively make such a large economic contribution. 

“Tourism in Queensland contributes $23 billion in expenditure to the economy and employs 241,000 people. There are few sectors of the community that do not derive a benefit from tourism. 

“QTIC is proud to represent Queensland’s hard-working tourism businesses and we will continue to advocate for ongoing growth of tourism in the coming decades.”

QTIC provides small businesses with business development support programs, access to business consulting, grant and funding assistance, and guidance on tools and resources to assist small businesses to grow.

Other industry recognition and development initiatives, such as the Queensland Tourism Awards, the QTIC Prize for Innovation in Tourism and the Salute to Excellence Awards for students are designed to further encourage growth of the state’s tourism sector.

QTIC is the peak industry body for tourism in Queensland, acting as “The Voice of Tourism”. QTIC is a private sector, membership-based organisation representing the interests of the tourism and hospitality industry across Queensland.