The resources slump was also felt in Perth, where hotel room rates, which were once well above $200 a night during the peak of the boom, declined 3 per cent to $188 a night.
By contrast room rates surged 14 per cent to $200 a night in Port Douglas, the iconic tropical far north Queensland resort town. Room rates were also up 4 per cent to $150 a night in nearby Cairns, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, and the recent focus of a surge in big hotel deals and new openings. Also in the tropical north, room rates in the Whitsunday Islands, the country's most expensive holiday destination, hit $244 a night, up 4 per cent.
All three destinations have benefited from the lower Australian dollar and rising low cost air carrier capacity driving greater numbers of domestic and Asian visitors to the region's Palm tree-lined beaches and tropical rainforests.
The improved outlook has also prompted projects such as the $40 million refurbishment of the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas, the luxury hotel that put Port Douglas on the map in the late 1980s.
The improving tourism picture also drove up returns in the south east Queensland holiday hotspots with Sunshine Coast room rates up 5 per cent to $193 a night and the Gold Coast up three per cent to $177 a night. However, Brisbane room rates fell 1 per cent to $168 a night.
Melbourne and Sydney prices lift
Among the big capital cities, Melbourne was the standout with a 5 per cent lift in room rates from $168 to $177 a night, with Sydney also strong, up 4 per cent to $208 a night with both cities benefiting from a strong calendar of events like the Cricket World Cup and Asian Cup.
Across the board, room rates were up a modest 2 per cent over the six-month period.
The recent annual results of the listed $900 million capitalised Mantra Group, the country's second biggest tourism operator, neatly reflected the changing dynamics of the hotel market. Mantra recorded a 5.9 per cent rise in revPAR across its portfolio of mainly Queensland resorts. By contrast, Perth, Brisbane and Darwin were the weak spots in Mantra's CBD portfolio.
"Leisure is looking better, that's a theme you can definitely espouse," said Mantra boss Bob East.