Brisbane will be a ghost town over the G20 long weekend

CRAIG L THOMSON

Fears the Brisbane CBD will be a ghost town during the G20 Leaders Summit have been confirmed by peak tourism bodies.

CEO of The Accommodation Association of Australia Richard Munro said he suspects Brisbane will be very quiet over the G20 long weekend.

“Bookings for the Gold Coast are up by 35 percent and some of our member properties there are booked out,” Mr Munro said.

“The Sunshine Coast has shown an uptick of 15 percent and is very heavily booked,” he said.

“We believe this is all a direct result of the G20 long weekend.”

But it appears that Brisbane residents are not just planning an escape to the coasts.

CEO of Southern Queensland Country Tourism Mary-Clare Power said they have had a great response to their ME20 promotion.

“We have had a nice boost for our operators, as normally it is quiet for us at this time of year,” Ms Power said.

“Aussies love a long weekend and we are well booked in the Eastern Country region which is only about a four hour drive from Brisbane.”

“Some of our operators in Toowoomba, South Burnett and the Southern Downs region are booked out.”

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk told 612 ABC Brisbane recently that he did not want Brisbane to be a “ghost town” during the G20 long weekend.

He encouraged the public to come into the city by offering free parking in the King George Square and Wickham Terrace car parks next Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the G20 summit.