Why Queensland wants to ban the word "rain" from weather forecasts
Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) has called for the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) to ban the use of the word “rain” in its forecasts, claiming the word is "too negative" and has the potential to deter day-tripping tourists.
QTIC chief executive Daniel Gschwind says the BOM’s use of language like “partly cloudy” and “chance of rain” can become problematic and wants these words to be replaced with less-dramatic alternatives like “mostly sunny” and “likely sunshine”.
“Weather messaging has a significant impact on weekend, spontaneous and daytrip travel plans,” Mr Gschwind said.
“We prefer the ‘glass half full’ option when it comes to weather reporting — for example, ‘mainly sunny’ is more encouraging to domestic travellers than ‘chance of rain’.”
“Rain in Queensland doesn’t have the same implications as the northern hemisphere. I don’t think it should be framed in a bad way. It could even be described as a ‘cooling down shower’ or something.”
University of Queensland tourism expert Dr Pierre Benckendorff backed up Mr Gschwind’s argument, saying positive weather forecasts can affect the psyche of visitors.
“We certainly see a downturn in occupancy at hotels and visitation at attrac-tions when the weather forecast is less favourable. ‘Partly cloudy’ or ‘overcast’ does not tell tourists a lot,” he said.
“More positive language that would still inform other industries without spooking tourists would certainly help.
“Unfavourable forecasts certainly impact on day trippers, possibly impact on short-stay visits but are unlikely to impact on long-haul visitors from interstate or overseas.”
A BOM spokesperson said the department’s focus was to provide an accurate forecast, even if this did mean using language some people may deem problematic.
“The bureau provides one of the most widely used services of government, and we recognise a broad range of indus¬tries rely on accurate weather forecasts in their operations, and that these forecasts also influence how the public spends their leisure time,” they said.
“The most recent improvements to the rainfall forecast have delivered more specific, probabilistic forecasts to better inform our customers.”
What are your thoughts?