Tourism has a significant economic impact on Queensland, with total expenditure by visitors to Queensland in excess of $19 billion and contributing $8.8 billion (or 4.5% Gross State Product) to the Queensland economy (Tourism Queensland 2009b, p1). Tourism also employs 119,000 Queenslanders or 5.7% of all employed Queenslanders, and indirectly creates another 84,000 jobs for Queenslanders (Tourism Queensland 2009b, p1).
Queensland is a popular tourist destination, attracting 40% of all international visitors to Australia and 46% of leisure (holiday or visiting family and/or friends) visitors for the year ended September 2008 (Tourism Queensland 2009a, p1). Queensland also attracts 26% of all domestic visitors and 27% of all domestic leisure visitors (Tourism Queensland 2009a, p2). Many of these visitors use motor vehicles as their mode of travel during their stay.
Previous data showed that around 72% of all overnight visitors use motor vehicles at some stage of their travel in Queensland with 86% of domestic tourists travelling in their own cars (Main Roads 2002, p33).
Domestic and international tourists are viewed as a vulnerable road user group (Queensland Transport 2008, p25). It is believed that tourists may be unfamiliar with Queensland’s road rules, could potentially become disoriented and they may also be at risk of fatigue-related crashes, which are usually more severe (Queensland Transport 2008, p25). The long distances between towns and cities may also be unfamiliar to many visitors.
Research has shown that Queensland has the second largest share of interstate drivers (8.1%) involved in fatal crashes, that they are over-represented in crashes involving driver fatigue compared with local drivers, and that international drivers are over-represented in serious crashes involving driver fatigue, failure to keep left, head on collisions and overturning (Watson, Wilks and Hansen 2003).
Many government agencies, private organisations, businesses and tourism operators provide road safety information for visitors in forms such as internet sites, brochures, maps, as well as guidance on:
- Trip planning, actual travel times and distances and choosing appropriate vehicles;
- Seasonal changes, outback driving conditions and the differences between driving in city and country conditions;
- Dangers associated with long distance driving and the need for regular rest stops to counter driver fatigue; and
- Road rules and the relevance of traffic law enforcement programs (Queensland Parliamentary Travelsafe Committee 1999).
RACQ provides travel information and safety advice to motorists via its web-based road Trip Planner and Road Conditions reporting service.
RACQ also provides free travel maps to members and members from affiliated automobile clubs.
Queensland’s reliance on tourism as a contributor to the State’s economy and the continued reliance on motor vehicle travel mean there is an ongoing need to ensure the safety of tourists and travellers using Queensland roads.
Priorities: Visitors and tourism
- Obtain more information about visitors; particularly those involved in crashes, to better understand their travel patterns, e.g., length of vehicle journey and time spent driving, and to assist in developing appropriate countermeasures.
- Improve the accessibility and delivery of road safety information to visitors and ensure that it is consistent, accurate and relevant, e.g., information packs in the glove box of hire cars.
- Continue to improve rural road conditions by the use of audible edge lines, widening and sealing of road shoulders, safer roadsides, divided roads and enhancement of roadside stopping facilities.
- Ensure that tourist signs and roadside advertising are appropriately placed, legible and do not cause a distraction to drivers.
- Review the use of four-wheel-drive vehicles on beaches in Queensland, especially by tourists and drivers who are inexperienced in off-road driving.
References
Main Roads 2002, Roads Implementation Program 2002-03 to 2006-07, Queensland Government, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Queensland Parliamentary Travelsafe Committee 1999, Report from a symposium on international visitors and road safety in Australia, Report No. 31, Queensland Parliamentary Travelsafe Committee, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Queensland Transport 2008, Queensland Road Safety Action Plan 2008-2009: safe4life, Queensland Government, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Tourism Queensland 2009a, Queensland Tourism Industry Performance Snapshot - February 2009, Tourism Queensland, Web Document, Accessed 24/02/09: http://www.tq.com.au/tqcorp_06/fms//tq_corporate/research/facts_and_figures/industry_performance_snapshot.pdf
Tourism Queensland 2009b, Tourism Facts and Figures: (updated 09 January 2009), Tourism Queensland, Web Document, Accessed 24/02/09: http://www.tq.com.au/tqcorp_06/fms//tq_corporate/research/facts_and_figures/tourism_facts_and_figures.pdf
Watson, B., Wilks, J. and Hansen, J. 2003, ‘The Crash Involvement of Interstate Drivers in Queensland’ from Roadwise, Vol. 24, p3-9.
Contact
For more information contact RACQ Traffic and Safety on 1300 853 658 or 07 3872 8925 or email traffic@racq.com.au.
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