15 Apr 2026
Words Ian Crooks Informer

Saddle Up for a Breakout Year!

I’ve said it of each passing year, but eternal optimist that I am, I think 2026 is going to be a belter for our industry.

And despite uncertainty in the economy and the situation in the Middle East, there’s more reason to be optimistic than not.

Last November, we breached a major threshold when the ABS announced that international tourist visitation was back above pre-Covid levels. It took five years, but we got there! In the year to June 2025, international tourists spent $13 billion on holidays in Australia – up 27% on the previous year.

And while a stronger Australian dollar is certainly tempting more of us to travel overseas (fuel supplies permitting!), the forecasts from Tourism Research Australia and Austrade show total visitor expenditure is on target to reach $233 billion by 2030 — up from $180 billion in 2024.

All in all, great news for our industry.

So with growth on the horizon, ResortBrokers is growing as well. So far this year, we’ve already taken on two new team members: Toowoomba-based Nick Lowis will serve our motel and caravan park clients in the Greater Toowoomba and Darling Downs Region, , and Steve Pappas joins our award-winning Brisbane management rights team. Welcome aboard Nick and Steve — great to have you with us.

There’s plenty of great reading in this issue of Informer. Our main story celebrates the top 40 movers and shakers in our industry. Lists are always controversial, but we’re a print magazine with limited real estate, so we had to cap it at 40. Did we get it right? Let the debate begin!

Our Faces of the Industry is David Toomey, who as head of Deltine Capital aims to be Australia’s largest owned and operated motel chain within the next five years. Read more about Deltine’s grand ambitions and David’s remarkable career in our story.

For our regional spotlight, our local broker Sarah Hutchins shares her insights on the accommodation property market across South Coast NSW, surely one of the most gorgeous parts of the country.

We love success stories, and we’ve got a great one this issue. Alex Mengual and Mark Matula have been documenting their experiences as young moteliers running Copper Country Motor Inn in Nanango, Queensland, on Instagram and TikTok. Their accounts have 50,000 followers and their top post has over 800,000 views!

ResortBrokers has proudly supported the Quest for a Cause golf days since the very beginning. These golf days combine great fun with meaningful fundraising for truly worthy causes, especially Team Kill Cancer which is run by longtime ‘Questies’ Mark and Ky O’Shea. Read more in our story about how their charity work has evolved over the last decade and how it’s really making a positive difference in the lives of the people they help.

Finally, Lunar New Year has just passed, so happy new year to all our readers who celebrate that great occasion. We’re now in the Year of the Horse — the Fire Horse to be exact, which typically signifies a time of action. So, saddle up — 2026 is going to be big. END