Media Releases

20 July 2010
Tourism Whitsundays will lead a $420,976 grant project with seven other regional tourism organisations to develop a website template aimed at making accessing tourist information more uniform across the destinations, Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor announced today.

Mr Lawlor said the funding was part of the Queensland Tourism Network Grant Scheme, administered by Tourism Queensland, and would involve Tourism Whitsundays working with seven other regional tourism organisations to develop a website template that could be standardised across all destinations.

The other tourism organisations include Fraser Coast and South Burnett Tourism, Mackay Tourism, Bundaberg and North Burnett Tourism, Capricorn Tourism, Gladstone Area Promotion and Development Ltd, Toowoomba and Golden West Regional Tourist Association and Southern Downs and Granite Belt Regional Tourism.

"This project will bring together a range of tourism groups to develop a standardised website template which will have consistent branding and functionality across the eight destinations," Mr Lawlor said.

"The websites will be customised to ensure each destination's individuality is maintained, but they will fall under a standard template which will make it easier for visitors to find information, particularly when travelling between destinations."

Member for Whitsunday Jan Jarratt said the website will be more user-friendly.

"It's hoped the website will better appeal to prospective travellers and encourage them to not only the Whitsundays but to stay on and visit other destinations in Queensland as well.

"Uniting the tourism organisations in Queensland for a more unified approach to selling the regions is not only good for the local economy but the whole state."

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.

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 Tourism Whitsundays and its partners 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.