Population experts say the amount of people living in regional and remote areas can be doubled with a few simple steps.

Property development lobby Urban Taskforce Australia says that the expansion of regional Queensland cities such as Townsville or the Sunshine Coast means that the state has evolved differently to its southern counterparts.

But this could be used to its advantage, Urban Taskforce chief executive Chris Johnson says.

He said that only half of the Queensland population live in the capital, Brisbane, in comparison to about 75 per cent of Victorians who reside in Melbourne and 64 per cent of New South Wales residents living in Sydney.

Doubling the population outside Queensland heavily-populated southeast corner is a central part of the Queensland Plan, launched by Premier Campbell Newman last week.

Local Government Association of Queensland president Margaret de Wit said that while each region had its own benefits and challenges, the plan provided direction for many councils.

“Be it resources or tourism, they can look at what opportunities there are and that's what I'm seeing already,” she told the Brisbane Times.

“In some places councils can see an opportunity for tourism and are already working on that themselves.

“That's why the Queensland Plan will be a boost for those people.

“It's not just motherhood statements that sit on a shelf but it gives direction,” Cr de Wit said.

“Country people are so innovative in so many ways," she said.

“They get off their backsides and do things and they will seize opportunities.

“A lot of councils have their own ideas and visions and they might come up with some different ways of doing things, but there is a lot of enthusiasm for the plan from local government and they have that enthusiasm there in spite of the fact they are doing so tough in so many areas... but they are so resilient.”