Sunshine Coast receives $72,000 tourism grant
Posted by editor (editor) on Jan 14 2010
2010 >>

Sunshine Coast Tourism will receive a special funding grant of $72,000 for tourism projects which will enhance the region’s tourism credentials and entice more visitors to the region, Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor announced today.

Mr Lawlor said the grant would enable Sunshine Coast Tourism to implement a program to help local tourism operators better understand marketing tools such as digital marketing, PR, how to package their product and how to tap into distribution channels.

The funding grant will also be used to encourage Sunshine Coast Hinterland tourism operators to develop more effective digital marketing and e-commerce programs.

“In the age of technology in a highly-competitive industry, it’s important for tourism operators to have a good understanding of the different channels they can use to market their product,” he said.

“Digital marketing and PR are a cost-effective way of tapping into a wide range of potential travellers but it is sometimes difficult for small tourism operators to know how to start using these channels.”

Mr Lawlor said the grant funds formed part of $1 million in Queensland Government funding allocated to the state’s 14 regional tourism organisations.

“The Sunshine Coast already has fantastic tourism product but both government and industry need to continue to raise the bar by looking for new opportunities, new markets and better ways of doing things,” he said.

Mr Lawlor said in the year to September 2009, 283,000 international and 2.57 million overnight domestic visitors spent time on the Sunshine Coast.

“Overnight visitors spent $1.9 billion on the Sunshine Coast, making tourism a key economic driver,” Mr Lawlor said.

“The $1 million in grant funding is a State Government commitment to fund tourism development initiatives regional tourism organisations would otherwise be unable to undertake.

“Regional tourism organisations across the state will use their allocations for a range of projects from new product feasibility studies to industry education programs.”

Mr Lawlor said the funding was part of the State Government’s Queensland Tourism Strategy commitment to an additional $4 million in funding over four years for regional tourism organisations.

“Competition for the tourist dollar is increasingly fierce and it’s important for destinations to constantly look at ways to improve their visitor experience – be it investigating new product opportunities, increasing customer service levels or providing business advice and support to operators,” he said.

“I was pleased to see so many high-quality submissions and look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition.”

Last changed: Jan 14 2010 at 9:38 AM