September 6, 2017
Southern Queensland Country Tourism – the regional promotion body dumped recently by the South Burnett Regional Council – has hit back, releasing figures that show overseas visitors to the region have risen over the past year.
According to the latest International Visitors Survey (IVS), the Southern Queensland Country region topped the State with the biggest rise – 14.9 per cent – in overseas visitors of any other Queensland tourist region.
However, SQCT CEO Mary-Clare Power admitted the rise was off a low base.
The IVS is produced by Tourism Research Australia.
Ms Power said the 14.9 per cent rise equated to 46,000 overseas tourists; this increase was much higher than the Queensland average of 5.6 per cent.
“These survey results are the fruits of joint labour by our hardworking tourism operators and SQCT to raise awareness of the fabulous experiences and products on offer in this part of the State,” Ms Power said.
She said the findings were encouraging, but the region was growing from a small base and more work was needed to build on this initial success.
“Many of our overseas visitors are backpackers and those who come for education or short-term work on farms and the like,” she said.
“Our aim is to also target families and couples from New Zealand and elsewhere who are looking for an authentic, special experience in Queensland away from the coast.
“Of course we are also looking at other markets such as return visitors from Germany and independent travellers from Asia.
“We are focusing our efforts on these markets and hope to see results in the near future.”
She said many international visitors were increasingly looking to add alternative experiences to coastal and beach holidays when they came to Queensland.
“It has taken us three or four years of working very hard in certain parts of the international market but we are now seeing a growing awareness of our region and what we have to offer,” Ms Power said.
The IVS also found the number of people visiting friends and relatives in the Southern Queensland Country region rose by 28 per cent, and total holiday visitors increased 22 per cent in the year to June 2017.
“These are outstanding results for the dedicated tourism industry businesses and service providers across our region,” Ms Power said.
