November 9, 2021
About 50 tourist operators packed into Nanango’s Energy Centre last Thursday night for the launch of the South Burnett’s official tourist guide.
The guide has been produced by the Visit South Burnett local tourism organisation and is the result of several months work by VSB Tourism Officer Melanie Eastaugh, writer Kate McCormack and a small army of local photographers.
The glovebox-size 48-page booklet will be distributed through Visitor Information Centres in the South Burnett and around south-east Queensland, as well as by VSB members.
At the Energy Centre Meeting – VSB’s third meet’n’greet for local tourism operators – Southern Queensland Country (SQC) CEO Peter Homan congratulated VSB on the publication.
He said a comprehensive visitor’s guide was an essential marketing tool for any local tourism organisation, and so was a deep understanding of the tourist market.
SQC had gone through an evolution in recent years and now collected and analysed large volumes of data gathered from tourists which provided unprecedented insights into customer behaviours.
Speaking more broadly, Mr Homan noted that while tourism on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts had collapsed during the pandemic, tourist numbers in the SQC area had barely been affected.
This was partly because the South Burnett and the rest of the SQC area was within easy driving distance of Brisbane; partly because the region was seen as a “safe” destination; and partly because the diversity of things on offer was so wide there was something to please every tourist taste.
South Burnett Mayor Brett Otto also praised VSB’s executive team on the release of the new visitor’s guide.
The Mayor said the South Burnett Regional Council was very pleased with the progress the group was making.
The role of local government was not to compete with the private sector, he said, but to assist industry-led organisations like VSB achieve outcomes that benefitted the broader community.
Tourism had an important role to play in the South Burnett’s economy and he looked forward to seeing it grow in the future.
VSB president Jason Kinsella said the VSB executive was very pleased to deliver the new visitor’s guide.
The committee had already set aside funds for a reprint when stocks begin to run low, and they expected the initial edition would last for about the next 12 months.
Like any guide, he was certain the content will change and develop over time but what was most important right now was getting it into the hands of tourists.
