Tourism Queensland board meets industry heavyweights in Port Douglas
Posted by editor (editor) on Jun 10 2010
2010 >>

Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor and Tourism Queensland’s Board travelled to Port Douglas today to meet with the Tropical North’s tourism heavyweights to discuss the major issues affecting the region’s $ 2.5 billion tourism industry.

Minister Lawlor said tourism was crucial to the Tropical North Queensland economy, employing 20 percent of the workforce and supporting hundreds of businesses.

“Tropical North Queensland is in a unique position in that it is more reliant on international visitors than any other region in Queensland and as a result has been hard hit by the global economic downturn,” Mr Lawlor said.

“Thirty percent of visitors to the region come from overseas, compared to 11 percent for Queensland as a whole and seven percent for Australia.

“International visitors also stay the longest and spend the most in the region so there is no denying that the industry has done it tough over the past couple of years.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and Member for Barron River Steve Wettenhall said having the Board in the Tropical North was a great opportunity for local tourism operators.

“This is their chance to discuss key initiatives over the coming year and how best the region can move forward,” he said.

“There has been a shift in the global economy compared to last year and the gradual return of consumer confidence and it will be great for them to hear how the region can best capitalise on this.

Tourism Queensland CEO Anthony Hayes said for this reason Tourism Queensland had changed its focus over the past 18 months to hard-hitting tactical campaigns aimed at driving bookings.

“Domestically and internationally we have worked with industry to offer fantastic holiday deals and packages aimed at getting heads in beds right now when the industry needs it most,” Mr Hayes said.

“The hugely successful Best Job in the World campaign has done an amazing job of raising awareness of Queensland internationally and off the back of this our international offices have worked on a range of tactical campaigns such as the Best Holiday in the World, Best Adventure in the World, Best Honeymoon in the World and so on.

“These campaigns, particularly in the UK and Europe, have been quite successful and have helped bolster visitors to the region as the Great Barrier Reef is on the ‘must see’ list of almost every international visitor to Australia.

“We have also entered a unique $8 million, three-year partnership with Tourism New South Wales to promote our two states internationally and the first cab off the rank included some great deals from the US which have included Tropical North Queensland in the itinerary.”

Mr Hayes said from an operational point of view Tourism Queensland had run a series of successful domestic marketing campaigns over the past year aimed at increasing the number of Australians, who holidayed in the Tropical North.

“Tropical North Queensland has featured prominently in state campaigns such as Unreal Deals, which generated more than $6 million in sales for Queensland, the Hey, Hey this is Queensland campaign, which was launched in Cairns, and a number of Tropical North specific campaigns such as last year’s highly successful Spend more Time, not more Money campaign, which generated 7800 room nights and around $5 million in value for the region,” he said.

“Feel a Million Miles away launched in February runs until June 30 and a couple of weeks ago we launched the Tropical Treats campaign, which runs until mid-May.

“In 2009 Australians spent $1.7 billion in Tropical North Queensland, 23 percent more than during the previous year - proof that Tourism Queensland’s approach over the past 18 months has been the right one.”

Mr Hayes said the Tourism Queensland Board had been eager to talk to the local industry about the major issues they were facing and would take industry feedback on board when undertaking business planning over the coming year.

“The indications are for a gradual return in global economic confidence, which will hopefully translate into a more positive 2010 for the region’s tourism industry,” he said.

Last changed: Jun 10 2010 at 2:43 PM