May 20, 2016
The Nanango Tourism and Development Association will update and reprint a locally-developed tourist map that has become a mainstay for the Nanango Visitor Information Centre over the last two years.
At its monthly meeting on Thursday night, members heard the Visitor Information Centre now distributes an average of ten copies of the map even on the slowest days, and frequently many more.
The map features tourist attractions in Nanango and surrounding areas, along with road maps and advertisements from local tourist-related businesses.
The advertisements pay the cost of each print run, but the project itself is run on a not-for-profit basis.
The tourist map was developed and launched in 2014, and so far has had two editions.
Stocks of the last run of the map are now running low, the meeting was told, and some updates need to be made to reflect recent changes to local businesses, so a third edition will now be prepared.
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The Yarraman Caravan Park will be the venue for a Biggest Morning Tea fundraiser for the Queensland Cancer Council on Thursday, May 26 from 10:00am to around noon.
Caravan park owner Lee Evans said the event is being organised by Judy Lax, and he was happy to donate his park as a venue to help a worthy cause.
The $5 entry fee includes morning tea, and there’ll be lots of raffles and prizes on offer.
To assist with planning the catering, though, an RSVP to Judy is essential: 0416-253-463.
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NaTDA will investigate the possibility of erecting “What’s On This Month” notice boards at the town’s three entrances along the D’Aguilar and Burnett Highways.
The aim of the notice boards would be to provide an avenue to promote local events to passing motorists.
Hopefully, this would help raise awareness amongst local and tourists about just how many events happen in the district throughout the year.
The meeting was told that Wondai’s “What’s On This Month” notice boards are highly visible, simple to update and appear to have been very successful for that town over many years.
Wondai uses their boards to promote the Wondai Gallery’s regular exhibition openings, the monthly Wondai Markets, the Wondai Garden Expos and many other local events.
NaTDA executives will investigate costs and options for different signage systems, as well as discuss the idea with the South Burnett Regional Council, and report their findings at a future meeting.
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A proposal by South Burnett Directions to run a “Shop Local” campaign across the South Burnett from September to February will not interfere with the town’s own “Mardi Gras Dollars” promotion, Thursday night’s meeting was told.
“Mardi Gras Dollars”, which ran from October to December last year, rewarded local shoppers with a free night out at the Nanango New Year’s Eve Mardi Gras.
South Burnett Directions’ own proposal, which would involve shoppers tapping terminals at participating stores to accumulate reward points, could be made to work in conjunction with “Mardi Gras Dollars”, the meeting heard.
A breakfast presentation held at Nanango RSL on Thursday morning to explain the “Shop Local” concept to local businesses did not draw a large roll-up, but several NaTDA members who attended thought South Burnett Directions’ proposal had merit – especially since local businesses could trial the promotion at no charge for the first few months.
NaTDA voted to support the “Shop Local” campaign, and will try to encourage Nanango businesses to take up the free trial.
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NaTDA president Gloria Kirkness has been invited to sit on South Burnett Directions Tourism Reference Group.
The group, which meets every second month, is composed of representatives from all South Burnett towns, along with representatives from industry organisations – such as the South Burnett Wine Industry Association – which have a strong tourism focus.
The invitation to join the group came from the SBRC’s Tourism Officer Julie Foley.
Mrs Kirkness said she already had a prior commitment which prevented her attending the Reference Group’s next meeting, but should be able to attend future meetings once she knew the group’s planned meeting schedule.
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NaTDA has been advised it will receive a $2000 grant from the Federal Government.
The group applied for a Volunteers Grant late last year, and received advice this month that its application had been successful.
The money will be used to purchase marquees to provide shade at outdoor events.
NaTDA will have the marquee banners printed with the group’s name to complement a recent consignment of caps and shirts the group purchased to raise its profile in the community.
