Sell with Confidence
Read More
News

New tourism plan a game changer

By Mark Beale

THE BEST days for the Whitsundays lie ahead, according to Whitsundays Marketing and Development CEO Danial Rochford, who last week delivered a draft copy of the new Destination Tourism Plan (DTP) to Whitsunday Regional Council. The new tourism planning document will guide the local tourism industry through to the year 2020 and aims to increase annual tourism expenditure from where it currently sits, at $785million, to $1.24billion. Mr Rochford said the Whitsundays was on the cusp of a major population growth, affording the region a major opportunity to grow tourism.

The plan calls for four ‘key catalytic strategies’ – the fundamental one being the upgrade of the Whitsunday Coast Airport to international status. “The more we can improve route access into the Whitsunday region, the more we can stimulate growth,” he said. Mr Rochford said developing an integrated resort development and hosting more events like the Airlie Beach Music Festival, as well as business events, are the other key strategies that will help grow the Whitsundays tourism. “So we still have a little bit of work to go to reaching that 2020 target, but essentially this document is about developing the game-changers,” he said. “We’re looking at ways in which we can stimulate new ways of encouraging tourism, both from a demand perspective – how we market the region – and a supply perspective – what infrastructure, what new products, and what new experiences do we have to encourage and entice our visiting public.” The engagement process for developing the DTP began in January and has been signed off by state and local governments and WMDL and is the first time Mr Rochford has seen three bodies agreeing to one planning mechanism. The document encompasses a number of studies and documents from previous years and integrates into existing planning tools and strategies.

“This is certainly not a shelf warmer,” Mr Rochford said. The DTP will come before next week’s council meeting for adoption.

Up to Date

Latest News

  • Help to Buy bill passes through Senate

    By Sebastian Holloman 26 November 2024 | Article Credit After months of delays and uncertainty, the Labor government’s shared equity scheme has successfully passed through the Senate. Following the Greens’ reversal of its party stance and subsequent support for the Help to Buy and Build to Rent housing bills, the Help to Buy … Read more

    Read Full Post

  • House prices will continue to moderate until interest rates are cut

    Nerida Conisbee Ray White Group Chief Economist The Australian housing market is showing clear signs of moderation as 2024 draws to a close, with the national house price median reaching $898,745, up 7.7 per cent annually but with monthly gains easing to 0.4 per cent. This deceleration in price growth reflects … Read more

    Read Full Post