Published Thursday, 04 December, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry
The Honourable Desley Boyle
Fraser Coast South Burnett Tourism receives $64,800 State Government Christmas present
Fraser Coast South Burnett Tourism will receive a special funding grant of $64,800 to develop a series of programs to help local tourism operators improve their business operations, Tourism Minister Desley Boyle announced today.
The grant, part of $1 million in State Government funding allocated to the state’s 14 regional tourism organisations, will be used for initiatives such as helping tourism operators implement online strategies; a product development forum; a skills training program for tourism workers; and a community awareness program to help promote the importance of tourism to the region’s economy.
“These funds will allow Fraser Coast South Burnett Tourism to help local tourism operators improve the way they do business,” Ms Boyle said.
“The Fraser Coast and South Burnett 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.”
Member for Hervey Bay Andrew McNamara said in the year to June 30 2008, 205,000 international and 696,000 domestic visitors spent time in the Fraser Coast South Burnett region.
Of these, 316,000 domestic and 194,000 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 for initiatives such as helping tourism operators implement online strategies; a product development forum; a skills training program for tourism workers; and a community awareness program to help promote the importance of tourism to the region’s economy.
“These funds will allow Fraser Coast South Burnett Tourism to help local tourism operators improve the way they do business,” Ms Boyle said.
“The Fraser Coast and South Burnett 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.”
Member for Hervey Bay Andrew McNamara said in the year to June 30 2008, 205,000 international and 696,000 domestic visitors spent time in the Fraser Coast South Burnett region.
Of these, 316,000 domestic and 194,000 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