{"id":56346,"date":"2014-02-06T22:45:02","date_gmt":"2014-02-06T12:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=56346"},"modified":"2020-12-07T11:33:05","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T01:33:05","slug":"think-tank-looking-for-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2014\/02\/06\/think-tank-looking-for-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Think Tank Looking For Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Booie<\/a>
After several years in the doldrums, Southern Queensland Country Tourism and the State Government hope to put regional tourism back on a growth path<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

February 6, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett tourism operators will have the opportunity next week to help formulate a strategy aimed at expanding the local tourism market by more than a third in the next six years.<\/p>\n

The Southern Queensland Country Tourism (SQCT) will be holding a “think tank” at Kingaroy Town Hall next Monday afternoon to gather ideas about how the South Burnett can cash in on seven emerging trends in Queensland’s tourism sector.<\/p>\n

The regional tourism organisation covers the South Burnett, Toowoomba, Southern Downs, Western Country and Maranoa Regional Council areas.<\/p>\n

The think tank is one of five SQCT is holding to gather ideas as it puts together a strategy to lift tourism expenditure in the area from its current $734 million per annum to more than $1 billion per annum by 2020.<\/p>\n

Other meetings will be held in Chinchilla, Warwick, Goondiwindi and Toowoomba.<\/p>\n

According to SQCT research, more than 1.8 million domestic visitors currently travel into the area each year, along with 48,000 international visitors. The money they spend supports 21,907 full-time-equivalent jobs.<\/p>\n

As part of the State Government’s 20-Year Queensland Plan, SQCT has been tasked with lifting these numbers to 2.2 million domestic visitors, 66,000 international visitors and almost 30,000 FTE jobs in the next six years.<\/p>\n

It aims to do this by playing on the region’s competitive strengths and “hero experiences”, and targeting consumer markets which have shown a strong preference for the area.<\/p>\n

Monday’s think tank will run from 3:00pm to 6:00pm and is open to anyone interested in growing the local tourism market.<\/p>\n

More information can be obtained from SBRC Economic Development Officer Kimberley Dove on (07) 4189-9174 or by emailing her<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n