Outlook 2017: Queensland travel trends

If the soothsayers get it right, 2017 is going to be big, with predictions ranging from the wild - a merger between North and South Korea, to the weird - the planet's first ever human head transplant, and the other-worldly – yet another Star Wars episode to hit our cinemas. Here in Queensland, we have our own predictions for the holiday year ahead – and all of them are flat out wondrous.

1) The rise of eventful travel. 

Have you done the Noosa Tri? Been to the Big Red Bash? Signed up for the Goomeri Pumpkin Festival? Or roading it all the way to the Laura Dance Festival? We predict travel in 2017 will move away from a plain old tick list of destinations to a hit list of fun, quirky and sometimes hard core events as visitors immerse themselves in a community in full swing and its characters in full bloom while on holiday. See Queensland's It's Live list here, or check out some of Queensland's best 2017 events here.

3) Countdown to the Commonwealth Games

The GC2018 will be the biggest event in Australia this decade and the nation's favourite resort playground is gearing up. Billions in investment dollars have been poured into the Gold Coast - the Pacific Fair makeover, the G-Link light rail, a generously upgraded foreshore, and new and revamped hotels – but none compares with the creative confidence coming from the locals who live there. Between the hot spots of Broadbeach and Burleigh, Australia's sixth largest city is birthing some interesting beachside hoods: Miami, Mermaid, and Nobbys are all adding lifestyle cred to previously overlooked patches. While overall visitor numbers are expected to go up, our call is travellers willl now drill deeper.

4) Weekend quickies.

Short on time but need a weekend overhaul? Then we forecast Queensland will deliver a fresh destination – fast and direct - for our southern friends. With flights from Sydney (and sometimes, Melbourne) straight to the Whitsundays (who doesn't want to land on an island resort?), Cairns, Townsville, Bundaberg, the Gold and Sunshine Coasts and Brisbane, Queensland is dishing up a direct set of "yes" votes for the time-strapped traveller. No red eye. No customs queues. No long-flights. You can go from “home to hello holiday” in less than half a day. We only see this going up.

5) Brisbane is booming

It's not a case of “Wake Up, Jeff”, it's “Wake Up, World”. Brisbane will serve up some serious firepower this year and attract more visitor interest. In February, it will be the only city outside New York to host the World Science Festival (again), in March the world's hottest country band – The Dixie Chicks - will headline CMC Rocks, Australia's biggest country music festival in Brisbane's backyard, and in May, GoMA will launch something so super cool, we can't even tell you - yet. Thankfully, 2016 saw a raft of new hotels like The Mantra Richmond, Alex Perry Hotel and Apartments, The Swiss-Belhotel and The Johnson open their doors, all just a taster for the next rollout of branded hotels, including The Emporium Southpoint, W Hotel and The Banyan Tree. There's plenty of room at the Brisb-Inn!

6) Mountain biking will be the new skiing!

True! We may not have the white peaks, but Queensland has staggeringly beautiful green trails to cash in on the increased interest in mountain biking, some designed for the 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and the 2018 Commonwealth Games Mountain Biking events. Check out Ride Cairns to shred the tropics or the new Hidden Peaks Trail in the Scenic Rim for a three-day glam bike getaway.

7) Beep Beep. It's the not-so-grey nomads.

No longer do you have to wait until the kids graduate, caravanning and camping for the younger crowd is in and our guess is numbers will only rise. Tourism Research Australia showed us that a total of 11.6 million caravanning and camping trips were taken by Australians for the year ending June 2016, and it was the 30 to 54 year old segment that drove the growth. They represented 46% of the market, an 11% increase on the previous year. Meanwhile, the 20 to 29 segment also took to the road making up 18% of all caravanning and camping trips. Little surprise that Queensland with its epic beach breaks and dirt cheap state forests was a googlemap target.

So that's it for us. Soothsayers? Crystalball gazers? Or holiday prophets? This is where we see travel heading for 2017.