MS NELSON-CARR ASKED THE MINISTER FOR TOURISM AND FAIR TRADING (MR LAWLOR) —
QUESTION:
Will the Minister elaborate on strategies that will benefit tourism in Townsville that are included in the Tourism Action Plan 2012?
ANSWER:
The Tourism Action Plan to 2012 is a $36 million plan containing 41 actions to deliver jobs, investment, infrastructure and marketing to support the Queensland tourism industry. The Action Plan aims to deliver interlinked benefits for Queensland tourism, and many of the actions have the potential to benefit Townsville directly, under the headings of Sales and Marketing; Major Events; Infrastructure; Access; and Jobs and Industry Development.
The Tourism Action Plan to 2012 showcases the Queensland Government’s commitment to delivering domestic and international marketing campaigns focused on achieving real on-the-ground benefits for Queensland’s tourism industry. In 2009-10, more than $8 million is being spent on new domestic and international sales and marketing initiatives to foster tourism industry growth, support tourism jobs and inject tourism dollars throughout Queensland, including Townsville.
For example, Tourism Queensland’s ‘Best Holiday’ campaign activity is currently running in partnership with tourism operators throughout the State. I am advised that a number of operators in Townsville have taken up the cost-effective opportunity to be involved in this high impact national campaign. Since the 10 month campaign was launched on 31 August 2009, visitors to the Queensland Holidays website have looked at more than 320 000 pages of holiday deals from every region of Queensland.
Tourism Queensland will continue to assess opportunities as they arise for the promotion of events in the Townsville region. This includes providing assistance with media and publicity exposure.
In July 2009, the Townsville 400 V8 Supercar Race led to benefits for the city. According to a James Cook University report, the race had a wider economic impact of $26 million and found that 50% of out-of-town visitors came specifically to Townsville for the race. Tourism Queensland promoted this event through its e-newsletter, Tourism on Q.
The Townsville North Queensland Tourism Opportunity Plan was launched in August 2009 providing direction for the sustainable development of tourism in the Townsville region, identifying product, public and private sector infrastructure and investment opportunities.
The Tourism Projects Pre-feasibility Grants Scheme, which will be launched later this year, will fund the pre-feasibility of a catalytic project highlighted in Tourism Opportunity Plans. For example, one of the projects identified in the Townsville Plan is the development of an eco-resort at Wallaman Falls, the highest single drop waterfall in Australia. Also available is the Ecotourism Places Development Grants scheme, currently being designed to complement the site identification and pre-feasibility assessment for low-impact ecotourism infrastructure on or adjacent to protected areas such as Wallaman Falls.
Also featured in the Tourism Action Plan to 2012 is a cruise shipping terminal for Townsville. In November 2009 the Premier announced the Government’s commitment to the terminal, which will include facilities for both cruise ships and military vessels. The $90 million-plus project will be delivered at Berth 10 of the existing Townsville Port, requiring funding from State Government, the Australian Defence Force and Townsville City Council.
Contestable funding will also be available to Townsville Enterprise, the regional tourism organisation, to support cooperative whole of region programs and outstanding zonal projects.
Tourism Queensland and Invest Queensland will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure Townsville airport is well serviced and dialogue continues with airlines in relation to schedule changes, route profitability, cooperative marketing opportunities and airfare pricing strategies.
To support the growing drive tourism market, the Minor Tourism Infrastructure Grants program is a contestable $1.8 million program over three years to support roadside infrastructure projects throughout regional Queensland. The 2010-11 program will open in early March 2010, targeting six touring routes. Applications will be invited for projects along the Great Tropical Drive from Cooktown to Townsville.
All initiatives within the Tourism Action Plan to 2012 to create jobs and drive industry development are available to tourism operators in Townsville. The Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation’s Townsville Regional Centre assists tourism businesses to apply for the Government’s JobsAssist program, a $10 million early intervention initiative to help prevent job losses in vulnerable firms.
Magnetic Island is one of the five pilot regions chosen for the Sustainable Regions for Queensland project. Tourism Queensland will work with regional operators to transform the area into a domestically and internationally-recognised sustainable tourism destination. The project will be carried out in partnership with EC3, ecoBiz, ecoFund, Kleinhardt Sustainability, Eco-Efficiency Group, regional tourism operators and handpicked local champions.
In summary, I believe that these initiatives stemming from the Tourism Action Plan to 2012 all collectively benefit the advancement of the tourism industry in the Townsville region.
