Published Thursday, 04 December, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry
The Honourable Desley Boyle
Gladstone tourism receives $79,000 State Government Christmas present
Gladstone Area Promotion and Development will receive a special funding grant of $79,000 to look into developing a Gladstone ‘Showcase’ Centre based on the region’s industry, Tourism Minister Desley Boyle announced today ahead of her visit to the region this weekend.
The grant, part of $1 million in State Government funding allocated to the state’s 14 regional tourism organisations, will be used to undertake a pre-feasibility study into developing an industrial tourism interpretive centre offering attractions such as tours of the smelter and shipyards.
“These funds will allow Gladstone Area Promotion and Development to look at developing a new interpretive centre and tourism attraction to give visitors a rare opportunity to see ‘behind the scenes’ of the heavy industry that is a key economic driver for the city,” Ms Boyle said.
“The Gladstone region already has some fantastic tourism product but both government and industry need to continue to raise the bar by looking for new opportunities and better ways of doing things.”
Ms Boyle said in the year to June 30 2008, 378,000 domestic and 62,000 international visitors spent time in the region.
Of these, 168,000 domestic and 54,000 international visitors came specifically on holiday.
“The $1 million in grant funding is a State Government commitment to fund tourism development initiatives regional tourism organisations would otherwise be unable to undertake.
“Regional tourism organisations across the state will use their allocations for a range of projects from new product feasibility studies to industry education programs.”
Ms Boyle said the funding was part of the State Government’s Queensland Tourism Strategy commitment to an additional $4 million in funding over four years for regional tourism organisations.
“Competition for the tourist dollar is increasingly fierce and it’s important for destinations to constantly look at ways to improve their visitor experience – be it investigating new product opportunities, increasing customer service levels or providing business advice and support to operators,” she said.
“I was pleased to see so many high-quality submissions and look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition.”
Further information:
Minister’s office – 3225 1005 or 0419 025 326
Tourism Queensland – 3535 5010
The grant, part of $1 million in State Government funding allocated to the state’s 14 regional tourism organisations, will be used to undertake a pre-feasibility study into developing an industrial tourism interpretive centre offering attractions such as tours of the smelter and shipyards.
“These funds will allow Gladstone Area Promotion and Development to look at developing a new interpretive centre and tourism attraction to give visitors a rare opportunity to see ‘behind the scenes’ of the heavy industry that is a key economic driver for the city,” Ms Boyle said.
“The Gladstone region already has some fantastic tourism product but both government and industry need to continue to raise the bar by looking for new opportunities and better ways of doing things.”
Ms Boyle said in the year to June 30 2008, 378,000 domestic and 62,000 international visitors spent time in the region.
Of these, 168,000 domestic and 54,000 international visitors came specifically on holiday.
“The $1 million in grant funding is a State Government commitment to fund tourism development initiatives regional tourism organisations would otherwise be unable to undertake.
“Regional tourism organisations across the state will use their allocations for a range of projects from new product feasibility studies to industry education programs.”
Ms Boyle said the funding was part of the State Government’s Queensland Tourism Strategy commitment to an additional $4 million in funding over four years for regional tourism organisations.
“Competition for the tourist dollar is increasingly fierce and it’s important for destinations to constantly look at ways to improve their visitor experience – be it investigating new product opportunities, increasing customer service levels or providing business advice and support to operators,” she said.
“I was pleased to see so many high-quality submissions and look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition.”
Further information:
Minister’s office – 3225 1005 or 0419 025 326
Tourism Queensland – 3535 5010