{"id":184888,"date":"2017-07-24T17:43:19","date_gmt":"2017-07-24T07:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=184888"},"modified":"2020-09-08T12:37:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-08T02:37:00","slug":"tourism-meeting-decides-to-do-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/07\/24\/tourism-meeting-decides-to-do-nothing\/","title":{"rendered":"Tourism Meeting Decides To Do Nothing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
An all-day meeting called by the South Burnett Regional Council to discuss future directions for the region’s tourism industry has decided to do nothing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Visit South Burnett president Jason Kinsella<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

July 24, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

An all-day meeting hosted by the South Burnett Regional Council in Kingaroy on Thursday has decided to do nothing about changing existing tourism arrangements.<\/p>\n

The meeting was called to assess future directions for local tourism after dissatisfaction with Southern Queensland Country Tourism (SQCT) led several tourism operators to form a new Visit South Burnett local tourism organisation.<\/p>\n

South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell said he believed tourism was “at a crossroads” after revenues at the region’s two lakeside tourist parks dropped by $225,000 at a time when SQCT claimed tourism numbers had hit a record high.<\/p>\n

However, Thursday’s meeting – which was attended by about 50 South Burnett tourism operators as well as Mayor Campbell and councillors – turned into a day-long talkfest where many ideas were floated but nothing was decided.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Nanango Tourism and Development Association, which sent along four members, said they felt the meeting had been a pointless exercise.<\/p>\n

“The workshop was facilitated by three people and we heard much the same things we have heard at tourism meetings for the past decade,” NaTDA member Barry Green said.<\/p>\n

“We came to the meeting in the hope we’d see things change, but came away disillusioned.”<\/p>\n

Blackbutt Avocado Festival chairman Jeff Connor said he felt the meeting had covered many points about local tourism that were already well known, but came up with nothing new.<\/p>\n

Former South Burnett Tourism Association president Bernie Cooper said he was interested to hear a new local tourism organisation had been formed but wondered why many of the people involved in it had not been active when the area last had a tourism association.<\/p>\n

“At the start of the day I thought the meeting had been called to make some changes in our region’s current tourism set-up,” he said.<\/p>\n

“But by the end of the day it became apparent that nothing was likely to change, and I think that’s a pity.”<\/p>\n

Visit South Burnett president Jason Kinsella said members of the new local tourism association would like to adopt a similar model to Tourism Noosa.<\/p>\n

Tourism Noosa has 600 members drawn from Noosa’s business community and is supported by Noosa Shire Council.<\/p>\n

Related articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n