A south-east Queensland region and 2032 Olympic destination has become a hotel and hospitality hotspot with development and investment opportunities booming.
On track to become Queensland’s $40-billion engine room, Moreton Bay is the nation’s fifth-fastest-growing region, with jobs, businesses, population, and developments continuing to grow rapidly, especially across the tourism, sports and events industry.
Moreton Bay Regional Council mayor Peter Flannery said the region welcomed 4.3 million annual visitors, more than twice as many as tourism mecca Noosa, and had emerged from the pandemic with a strong post-Covid recovery plan and a thriving tourism industry.
“Moreton Bay is one of the state’s most popular tourism destinations, boasting diverse natural attractions from coast to hinterland, a massive calendar of events and festivals, and the NRL’s newest team, The Dolphins,” Flannery said.
Investment in short, medium and long-term developments, events and businesses across the tourism and hospitality industry continues to boost the industry.
Flannery said things were set to get bigger as Moreton Bay was announced as host of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games boxing events and it was revealed a 7000-seat indoor stadium would be built in Moreton Bay’s Olympic Park at The Mill at Moreton Bay.
He said council was jumping on the economic, infrastructure and promotional opportunities the Olympics provided and said the Moreton Bay Indoor Sports Centre would serve an important purpose before and after the Games.
“With nine multi-use courts, the centre will become a cultural hub for Moreton Bay, and play host to major events, community sports, concerts, conferences and more,” he said.
Flannery said the booming region needed at least eight hotels and 1400 rooms to cater for growing visitor demand between now and 2032, with at least four hotels needed by 2026 alone, in addition to additional caravanning, camping and glamping projects.
He said opportunities included 180 rooms in North Lakes to cater to expanding commercial, retail and health precincts, 475 rooms at Redcliffe to support leisure activities, sports, conferences, and events, and up to 200 rooms at The Mill at Moreton Bay, connected to the Olympics and servicing the burgeoning knowledge precinct.
Comiskey Group co-founder and director Rob Comiskey supported calls for internationally branded hotels to invest in the region.
Comiskey said the group had recognised the region’s potential early on and had already invested $150 million in developments across Moreton Bay.
“We’ve got some really untapped markets here and accommodation and hospitality opportunities are only continuing to grow post-Covid,” he said.
As Queensland’s most awarded hospitality business, the Comiskey Group is behind Moreton Bay’s hugely popular Sandstone Point Hotel, Eatons Hill Hotel and Beachmere Hotel.
The Group recently took home seven awards at the 2022 Queensland Hotels Association Awards for Excellence, including Queensland’s Best Overall Hotel of the Year for Eatons Hill Hotel and Best Entertainment Venue for Sandstone Point Hotel.
“We’re the biggest tourism employer in the area with 500 employees across our businesses with 111 in our caravan park alone.
“Take advantage of the low operational costs, the access to skilled workers, the proximity to major highways and airports, the growing visitor numbers, and everything else the region has to offer,” Comiskey said.
Flannery said council had identified the growing tourism, sports and events sector as one of four industries that were key to continued economic growth in Moreton Bay, along with advanced manufacturing, food and agribusiness, and knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship.
“Our Regional Economic Development Strategy is providing long-term economic direction to support the creation of 100,000 jobs and 16,000 new businesses in the region, and ultimately a $40 billion economy by 2041 or earlier,” he said.
To find out more about the hotel industry opportunity in Moreton Bay, download Invest Moreton Bay’s Hotel Investment Guide, which provides investors with all the essential tools to navigate and understand the opportunities available.
Investors can contact Invest Moreton Bay’s dedicated Investment Attraction Team and find support services available to assist their journey at every stage via a single, dedicated contact point able to help with identifying suitable sites and connections with council services, and local business networks.
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