Queensland's Tourism Minister has indicated residents could have a decision on the state's border reopening in the next three weeks.
Stirling Hinchliffe told ABC Gold Coast this morning that he could not provide an exact date but was hopeful discussions would be held before the next National Cabinet on November 5.
"It's obviously a very key point of information sharing and decision making, but I'm hopeful that we can have some levels of communication before that," he said.
"I can't give a deadline on that right now.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last week said Queensland could make decision on opening borders after the next National Cabinet meeting.
But Gold Coast tourism operators and business leaders have been pushing for an earlier decision otherwise running the risk of losing a substantial share of Christmas tourism.
Fiji 'strong' amid closed borders
Queensland Airports chief executive Chris Mills believes Ms Palaszczuk's comments were not giving holiday makers confidence but rather driving them away.
"If you're in states which are currently closed to Queensland, then you're looking at your holiday plans and saying, 'I can't afford to plan to go to Queensland and take the risk while the borders aren't open'," he said.
Fiji has seen strong bookings for summer after announcing it would reopen to Australia in November.
Mr Mills said the Pacific destination was taking business away from Queensland.
"People in New South Wales are already making decisions about flying to Fiji instead."
Time to prepare
Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind said tourism providers would need a decent amount of notice to prepare for the opening.
He said he hoped to see the border open by the end of November.
"We're urging the government, along with many other people, to open the border," Mr Gschwind said.
He said while there was enormous pent-up demand from interstate visitors, he feared Queenslanders had been "lulled into a false sense of security" by the state's low number of COVID cases.
Townsville resort manager Michael Jones said the government could restore confidence to the sector by announcing a firm reopening date or vaccination target.
"I don't understand the cryptic messaging around it," Mr Jones said.
"The closer we get to Christmas, the more we are missing out.
"New South Wales and Victoria are our two biggest markets and there is just no confidence.
