Published Thursday, 15 November, 2007 at 09:48 AM
Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry
The Honourable Desley Boyle
Grant helps Far Northern tourism operators plan for future
Tourism Tropical North Queensland will receive a special grant of $79,200 to upgrade its website and show local operators how to take advantage of future tourism trends.
Tourism and Regional Development Minister Desley Boyle, who is also the Member for Cairns, announced the funding today.
“The website will be upgraded to include more tourism operators and it will be easier for people to access information about the region,” Ms Boyle said.
“This is crucial because research clearly shows the internet is now the major tool people use when researching holiday destinations.
Ms Boyle said the funding would also help TTNQ to train local tourism operators in how to interpret and take advantage of the new Industry Performance Analysis Tool.
“The Tool gives the industry access to great statistics about things like hotel occupancy rates, visitor numbers and where tourists are originating from,” Ms Boyle said.
“This is really useful information that can be used to predict where the future growth areas are so operators can target those markets.”
Ms Boyle said tourism continued to be a major contributor to the Far North’s economy.
“In the past financial year, more than 2.2 million tourists visited the Far North,” she said.
“Domestic tourism spending in the region was also up 10 per cent to $1.2 billion.
“With the reef and the rainforest, the Tropical North is one of Australia’s most iconic tourism destinations and hard work by the industry means it is increasingly popular.”
Ms Boyle said the grant for TTNQ was part of a $1 million funding boost to assist regional tourism organisations to implement the Bligh Government’s ten-year, $48 million Queensland Tourism Strategy.
“The Queensland Tourism Strategy is a key election promise to secure the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the State’s tourism industry,” she said.
“I congratulate Tourism Tropical North Queensland on proposing a project of practical support to the local industry.”
For more information on the Queensland Tourism Strategy visit www.qldtourismstrategy.com.au
Ends
Media contact: 3224 2004
14 November 2007
Tourism and Regional Development Minister Desley Boyle, who is also the Member for Cairns, announced the funding today.
“The website will be upgraded to include more tourism operators and it will be easier for people to access information about the region,” Ms Boyle said.
“This is crucial because research clearly shows the internet is now the major tool people use when researching holiday destinations.
Ms Boyle said the funding would also help TTNQ to train local tourism operators in how to interpret and take advantage of the new Industry Performance Analysis Tool.
“The Tool gives the industry access to great statistics about things like hotel occupancy rates, visitor numbers and where tourists are originating from,” Ms Boyle said.
“This is really useful information that can be used to predict where the future growth areas are so operators can target those markets.”
Ms Boyle said tourism continued to be a major contributor to the Far North’s economy.
“In the past financial year, more than 2.2 million tourists visited the Far North,” she said.
“Domestic tourism spending in the region was also up 10 per cent to $1.2 billion.
“With the reef and the rainforest, the Tropical North is one of Australia’s most iconic tourism destinations and hard work by the industry means it is increasingly popular.”
Ms Boyle said the grant for TTNQ was part of a $1 million funding boost to assist regional tourism organisations to implement the Bligh Government’s ten-year, $48 million Queensland Tourism Strategy.
“The Queensland Tourism Strategy is a key election promise to secure the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the State’s tourism industry,” she said.
“I congratulate Tourism Tropical North Queensland on proposing a project of practical support to the local industry.”
For more information on the Queensland Tourism Strategy visit www.qldtourismstrategy.com.au
Ends
Media contact: 3224 2004
14 November 2007