Visitors to Australia's tourism hot spots are experiencing an acute shortage of rental cars, industry experts have said, with the situation to last for some time yet.
Tourism numbers have returned to pre-COVID levels in some parts of Queensland but many frustrated tourists have been left stranded and unable to find rental vehicles.
Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive officer Daniel Gschwind said some hire car companies who reduced their fleet at the start of the pandemic were struggling to fully restock.
"The supply chains, including for new cars or even second-hand cars, was disrupted," he said.
Next week's Labour Day holiday will be the third consecutive long weekend in Queensland following Anzac Day and Easter.
"The domestic market is rebounding very strongly as Australians are still a little bit reluctant to go overseas," Mr Gschwind said.
"That often means a combined fly-drive holiday."
Shortage a global problem
Motor Trades Association of Australia CEO Richard Dudley said the ongoing hire car shortage was part of a complex global problem.
"During the pandemic a lot of hire car companies either downsized their fleets or got rid of their fleets almost entirely because obviously no one was travelling," he said.
Mr Dudley said there were ongoing delays in vehicle production due to a shortage of parts, including microchips used in electronic control units.
He said when car orders were cancelled at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, component manufacturers found new customers.
"Production's gone elsewhere, so those chips were sent to home computers, television sets, all the things that people went and purchased during the peak of the lockdowns," Mr Dudley said.
"Now they're in the line-up to get those microchips back into production and back into vehicles."
Floods compounding issue
The Motor Trades Association said hire car companies were working hard to replenish their fleets to meet increased demand from tourists
But the recent floods in south-east Queensland and northern NSW have also added to supply pressures.
Mr Dudley said it would take "some time" to return to full capacity because a "lot of vehicles were lost".
"So of course, all of those people went looking for hire cars as well.
"Supply will get better as time goes on."
A significant challenge
Mr Gschwind said tourist operators were thankful domestic tourism had rebounded strongly, but the shortage of rental cars was a significant challenge in popular locations like the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
"We have now the challenge of finding enough staff, of finding enough supplies, in some cases, like hire cars," he said.
"It really just demonstrates how challenging it is to crank up this big machine of our industry and all the wheels that make part of this big tourism engine.
"That's really not so easy."
'Book Christmas car early'
Destination Gold Coast CEO Patricia O'Callaghan said occupancy rates were back above 80 per cent, with strong visitation from New Zealand, Singapore, New South Wales and Victoria during the recent school holidays.
"We know the Gold Coast-Melbourne route in particular was one of the busiest routes in the country," she said.
"We're seeing 80 per cent loads at the moment on those flights from Auckland.
"What I would just suggest is try and get in early."
