Town rivalry for losers
By Liz Brooker
news@longreachleader.com.au
OUTBACK tourism operators got the hard word last Thursday at a high powered meeting: package yourselves as a single force to promote the region, or risk failing as individuals.
Tourism Queensland has been gifted $750,000 by the State Government to help boost visitor numbers, but Outback operators have discovered that they have a fight on their hands if they want to benefit from the windfall.
Two workshops featuring guest speakers Wayne Carlson from Queensland Rail Passenger Services, Tony Edwards from Qantaslink, Barry Duncan from the Outback Queensland Tourism Authority (OQTA), and Tony Mayell from Australian Outback Travel (AOT) joined local government officials, owner-operators and brand managers to combine over 200 years joint industry knowledge in the search for a new direction.
Despite only 30 of the 150 members of OQTA attending the Longreach workshop, those who were there agreed with what the experts were saying.
Mr Calson stressed to the group that tourism numbers in the Outback were only going to dramatically increase if individual operators began working together to offer ‘packages’, rather than competing with each other for every dollar.
"One of our adverts accidentally ran in the Courier Mail promoting a trip for $8,871 rather than the correct price of $871.
"We were still receiving calls.
"People were thinking to themselves it had to be a damn good holiday to cost that much.
"They want value.
"For Outback tourism to do this properly you have to be in for the long haul.
"Even if you begin today it is still going to be 18 months before anyone starts kicking the door down."
Mr Calson went on to tell the group that over $450 million was spent on press advertising alone last year for national tourism, and local level operators had to pull together to afford adequate promotion.
"Look at Port Douglas 20 years ago. Everybody has got to start somewhere, but you need to do it together.
"The Outback should be seen not as a destination but as an experience.
"You have got be positive and excited yourselves to bring the people here."
Marketing guru Don Jolly also believed numbers visiting the Outback would increase exponentially if only tourism operators and councils alike quit moaning and began crafting plans to generate regional action.
"It is easy to get carried away talking about what you haven’t got.
"You really need to be supporting this business and operators who want to get involved in it together.
"How you build the community or foster new relationships is one thing, but they all have to be in it for the long haul.
"With some money now being made available, all interested parties need to move forward and stop just talking about it."
"IF we can get local governments - and I mean all 11 shires - on board, we will really start being able to make an impact as a region in attracting the tourist dollars."
- For more tourism operator comments from around the Central
West, turn to Page 9 in The Longreach Leader.
news@longreachleader.com.au
OUTBACK tourism operators got the hard word last Thursday at a high powered meeting: package yourselves as a single force to promote the region, or risk failing as individuals.
Tourism Queensland has been gifted $750,000 by the State Government to help boost visitor numbers, but Outback operators have discovered that they have a fight on their hands if they want to benefit from the windfall.
Two workshops featuring guest speakers Wayne Carlson from Queensland Rail Passenger Services, Tony Edwards from Qantaslink, Barry Duncan from the Outback Queensland Tourism Authority (OQTA), and Tony Mayell from Australian Outback Travel (AOT) joined local government officials, owner-operators and brand managers to combine over 200 years joint industry knowledge in the search for a new direction.
Despite only 30 of the 150 members of OQTA attending the Longreach workshop, those who were there agreed with what the experts were saying.
Mr Calson stressed to the group that tourism numbers in the Outback were only going to dramatically increase if individual operators began working together to offer ‘packages’, rather than competing with each other for every dollar.
"One of our adverts accidentally ran in the Courier Mail promoting a trip for $8,871 rather than the correct price of $871.
"We were still receiving calls.
"People were thinking to themselves it had to be a damn good holiday to cost that much.
"They want value.
"For Outback tourism to do this properly you have to be in for the long haul.
"Even if you begin today it is still going to be 18 months before anyone starts kicking the door down."
Mr Calson went on to tell the group that over $450 million was spent on press advertising alone last year for national tourism, and local level operators had to pull together to afford adequate promotion.
"Look at Port Douglas 20 years ago. Everybody has got to start somewhere, but you need to do it together.
"The Outback should be seen not as a destination but as an experience.
"You have got be positive and excited yourselves to bring the people here."
Marketing guru Don Jolly also believed numbers visiting the Outback would increase exponentially if only tourism operators and councils alike quit moaning and began crafting plans to generate regional action.
"It is easy to get carried away talking about what you haven’t got.
"You really need to be supporting this business and operators who want to get involved in it together.
"How you build the community or foster new relationships is one thing, but they all have to be in it for the long haul.
"With some money now being made available, all interested parties need to move forward and stop just talking about it."
"IF we can get local governments - and I mean all 11 shires - on board, we will really start being able to make an impact as a region in attracting the tourist dollars."
- For more tourism operator comments from around the Central
West, turn to Page 9 in The Longreach Leader.
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