21 July 2010
Toowoomba and Golden West Regional Tourist Association will receive more than $51,000 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 $42,800 would go to Toowoomba and Golden West Regional Tourist Association to lead a project in conjunction with
"The funding is part of the Queensland Tourism Network Grant Scheme, administered by Tourism Queensland, and while Fraser Coast and South Burnett Tourism and the South Burnett tourism industry have worked well together for a number of years, the South Burnett region has much closer linkages, both geographically and in terms of the type of tourism experiences it offers, with Toowoomba and the Golden West," Mr Lawlor said.
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Mr Lawlor said Toowoomba and Golden West Regional Tourist Association would also receive a grant of $8,955 to work with local tourism organisations and councils to host a
"Toowoomba and Golden West Regional Tourist Association will partner with Toowoomba Events, Brisbane Marketing,
"This conference will be a fantastic opportunity for smaller local tourism industry operators to come together to hear from a range of industry experts and develop new opportunities to work together."
Member for Toowoomba Kerry Shine said Toowoomba and Golden West Regional Tourist Association would also benefit from a $420,976 grant project being led by Tourism Whitsundays.
"The Queensland Tourism Network Grant Scheme funding will involve eight regional tourism organisations working together to develop a website template that could be standardised across all destinations," he said.
"The project is being led by Tourism Whitsundays and includes input from
"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 Shine 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.
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.
"Toowoomba and Golden West Regional Tourist Association submitted applications under both categories and I am happy to report was successful in each."
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
"The calibre of grant submissions was extremely high and I congratulate Capricorn Tourism 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.
