TOWNSVILLE MAKES ITS MARK ON DOMESTIC TOURISM

Townsville is now among Australia’s top 20 hot spots for visitor spending, according to new figures announced by Tourism Minister Margaret Keech today.

The latest National Visitor Survey results show domestic tourists spent more than $536 million in the region in the year ending March 2007.

“This was largely generated by a fantastic 15.1 per cent increase in domestic visitation to the region,” Mrs Keech said.

“There were close to one million domestic visitors to Townsville during the past year, staying more than four million visitor nights.”

Mrs Keech said the strong increase was led by a 40.8 per cent boost in holidaying domestic tourists.

“Over the past three years domestic visitation has increased annually by 11.5 per cent,” she said.

“These results are a testament to the hard work being done to grow the tourism industry in the Townsville region.

“I look forward to seeing Townsville in all of its glory later this year as it hosts the Queensland tourism industry night of nights, the Queensland Tourism Awards,” Mrs Keech said.

Townsville Enterprise CEO Glenys Schuntner said the latest domestic tourism results were a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the local tourism industry.

“The Townsville tourism industry has partnered with both state and local governments to establish itself as a legitimate domestic tourism destination,” Ms Schuntner said.

“We are continuing to work on the development of local tourism products to ensure that our tourism offerings meet the requirements of domestic visitors.

“Continued investment and new marketing initiatives will lay the platform for continued domestic tourism growth.”

Media Contact: Jo Gibbons 3225 1005 / 0439 761 416