Queensland rules as the nation’s top destination when it comes to the federal government’s half-price airfare initiative. The Queensland total was bolstered by more than 197,000 tickets sold for travel to the Gold Coast but destinations such as tropical north Queensland and the Sunshine Coast also saw good sales. But only Adelaide, with 159,964 tickets sold, came close to challenging the Gold Coast. READ: Asia_pacific international flights still hit hard by COVID. The breakdown was released as 82 percent of the 800,000 half-price tickets, or 663,000 fares,  have been snapped up. Other popular destinations included Hobart, Launceston and Darwin. The federal government subsidized the tickets to stimulate travel but they were limited to select destinations and didn’t include cities such as Sydney. Nonetheless, federal ministers Dan Tehan and Michael McCormack lauded the initiative as a life-saver for the Australian aviation and tourism industries. “We have always said planes in the air mean jobs on the ground and with airlines reporting record-breaking sales, we see further proof of our economy’s comeback, they said in a joint statement. “More than 82 percent of our half-priced tickets have been sold in just one month and we know demand remains strong. “We continue to encourage Australians to take advantage of this opportunity to book a cheap holiday, because for every dollar spent on a flight 10 more will be spent on the ground. "The tourism and aviation industries are central to our National Economic Recovery Plan and as we have done right throughout the pandemic, we will continue to make the necessary investments to support jobs across Australia.”

Region	Tickets sold
Adelaide	159,964
Lasseter and Alice Springs	15,925
Avalon	19,926
Broome	2,441
Tropical North Queensland	53,084
Devonport and Burnie	4,077
Darwin	30,877
Hobart	80,239
Whitsundays and Mackay	11,524
Kangaroo Island	767
Launceston	41,923
Sunshine Coast	39,003
Merimbula	1,431
Gold Coast	197,730
Townsville	4,504
Total	663,413