Media Releases

17 July 2010
Sunshine Coast Regional Council will receive $225,000 in State government funding for two projects to improve its tourism credentials, Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor announced today.

Minister Lawlor said the first grant of $125,000 would go to the Sunshine Coast Regional Council to lead a project to continue its work with local tourism groups to merge into a single destination management organisation for the region.

"The funding is part of the Queensland Tourism Network Grant Scheme, administered by Tourism Queensland, and will be used by the Council to assist in bedding down the new Sunshine Coast Destination Management organisation - a consolidation of Tourism Noosa, Caloundra Tourism, Maroochy Tourism Industry Advisory Board and the now-defunct Tourism Sunshine Coast," he said.

"The Sunshine Coast's tourism bodies have recognised the need to pool their resources under a single umbrella to promote the region and over the past 12 months have done a fantastic job in working to make this happen.

"They have led the way in what has been a challenging process and this funding will go towards helping the new entity get up and running and is a tribute to their combined passion and commitment for tourism in the region."

Mr Lawlor said a further $100,000 in grant money had been awarded to the Council to assist the new tourism body - Sunshine Coast Destination Ltd - in establishing a new "brand family" for the Sunshine Coast region's four sub-regions - Noosa, Caloundra, Maroochy and Hinterland.

"While Sunshine Coast Destination Ltd will operate as a single entity, it's important that the Sunshine Coast's tourism regions retain their own identity and the character that makes them unique," he said.

"This project will help the new organisation work towards developing sub-brands for these regions that work in harmony with the greater Sunshine Coast brand."

Mr Lawlor said the Queensland Tourism Network Grant Scheme application process was announced in February this year with funding available to a range of not-for-profit tourism groups including regional and local tourism organisations, local government tourism departments and divisions, and tourism associations that were members of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council.

The grants fell under two categories - funding for projects to enable tourism organisations to streamline their current operations - for example by merging with other tourism bodies; and for organisations to collaborate on new tourism marketing or product development initiatives that aren't already part of their core operations.

"Sunshine Coast Regional Council submitted applications under both categories and I am happy to report was successful in each.

"The Sunshine Coast region will also benefit from a grant given to Gold Coast Tourism to work with the Sunshine Coast Regional Council on a South East Queensland Walking Trails initiative."

Mr Lawlor said the Queensland Tourism Network Grant Scheme would allocate $3 million over the next three years as part of a commitment to help the state's tourism organisations develop a stronger and more cohesive network.

"The aim of the grant scheme was to encourage tourism organisations to think outside their 'business as usual' squares," he said.

"We wanted them to come to us with proposals that would help them build a stronger and more efficient tourism network in Queensland," he said.

"The calibre of grant submissions was extremely high and I congratulate Sunshine Coast Regional Council on the success of their application."

The grants are a result of the 2008 State Government review of Queensland's tourism network which resulted in a series of reforms which included encouraging tourism organisations to collaborate in order to create a more efficient and streamlined industry.