Tourism campaign positions Townsville North Queensland as an education destination for families

New technology is now being used in the Queensland Tourism industry to attract visitors to local attractions and appeal to families in a bid to boost tourism expenditure.

Visiting Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville as part of the Palaszczuk Government’s first Community Cabinet this weekend, Minister for Education, Tourism, Major Events and Small Business, Kate Jones, said a new educational tourism program had been facilitated by Tourism and Events Queensland and Townsville Enterprise.

“TEQ and Townsville Enterprise are working together to inspire local tourism businesses to deliver quality educational experiences for families visiting Townsville,” Minister Jones said.

“As part of the program the region will be profiled in an interactive, child friendly travel app, developed by Bound Round, which features treasurer hunts, videos, games, quizzes and fun facts.

“Tourism businesses involved in the initiative include Billabong Sanctuary, Reef HQ Aquarium, Museum of Tropical Queensland and SeaLink Queensland.

“The app also features information on the National Park areas of Magnetic Island and Cape Pallarenda.

“The aim of this program is to encourage more Australian families to visit the destination and enhance the fun and educational experience they have while on holiday in the region.

“It also has the added bonus of supporting the 4000 jobs in the Townsville Region that are a result of the local tourism industry which is worth $2.4 million every day."

Townsville Enterprise CEO, Patricia O’Callaghan, said Australian families were an important visitor market comprising around one third of all domestic visitors to the region.

“The Townsville North Queensland Destination Tourism Plan, developed in partnership with TEQ, local councils and stakeholders, identifies families as the priority target market to increase visitation to the region,” Ms O’Callaghan said.

“This program aligns with our destination brand Townsville North Queensland ‘Alive with curiosity’ encouraging families to explore the region and children to learn something new.

“The program is being implemented in the lead up to the Easter holidays with participating businesses encouraging visiting families to download the app and learn more about the destination.

“The app, suitable for children between the ages of 8 -12, will provide children with a hands-on learning experience to enhance the value of their holiday.”

The app is in addition to the Palaszczuk Government’s tourism commitments made during the campaign including:

• offering a $10 million incentive for tourism entrepreneurs to create and promote new and improved major events for Queensland

• focusing on developing emerging tourism markets, particularly Asia

• committing $100 million over five years to protect the Great Barrier Reef for tourism

Emma Smith (Minister Jones’ Office) 0417 405 879