Martin Ferguson
Minister for Resources and Energy
Minister for Tourism
Jan Jarratt
Queensland Minister for Tourism
Eighty members of the domestic and international media will arrive on the Gold Coast this week to help the tourism industry following the Summer floods and cyclone.
Tourism Ministers, Martin Ferguson and Jan Jarratt welcomed the media as part of the global mega-familiarisation tour of Queensland by 200 Australian and international media. Hosted by Tourism Australia and Tourism Queensland the visitors will see for themselves that Queensland is open for business.
“More than 14 destinations are included in the global mega-familiarisation which is one of the initiatives announced as part of the joint Federal/State $10 million global tourism recovery strategy under the banner of Nothing Beats Queensland,” Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP said.
“Queensland’s tourism industry was impacted not only by cancellations but by perceptions that every part of the State was underwater. While we know this isn’t the case, our job is to get the message out that Queensland is open for business.
“The week-long familiarisation event will see staff from some of the world’s highest circulating media channels including Shanghai Morning Post, Travel Channel China, Guangdong Radio (all China); The Hindu (India); Nikkei (Japan); Welt newspaper, ARD TV (both Germany); Irish Sun; Press Association (UK), Vancouver Sun (Canada), CNN (USA) travel across Queensland, including the Gold Coast,” he said.
Queensland Minister for Tourism, Ms Jan Jarratt added: “The Gold Coast will undoubtedly be an unforgettable experience for the international journalists who will experience the best of our beautiful region including the exhilarating theme parks, visiting gorgeous Springbrook National Park, exploring the coast’s iconic beaches, immersing themselves in the native bushland and getting up close and personal with our abundant native wildlife.
“This campaign will enormously boost international awareness of Queensland’s unique regions, show how well our beautiful beaches and abundant outback have bounced back from summer’s disasters and prove to the world that Nothing Beats Queensland.
“More than 222,000 owe their living to the tourism industry and this initiative is a great way of getting the word out to a global audience of millions that Queensland’s beaches are beautiful, its reefs, islands and natural areas pristine, lush and green, and that Queenslanders have the welcome mat rolled out and ready.”
Ms Jarratt said the global mega-familiarisation followed another recovery initiative launched last week as part of the $10 million tourism recovery strategy – the Queensland Pledge.
“Last week Tourism Queensland launched the Queensland Pledge, which encourages tourism operators, other businesses and individuals who come in contact with tourists to sign a pledge to provide visitors with the best holiday possible.
“We are encouraging those who take up the Queensland Pledge to go the extra mile, add something extra to make each visitor’s trip more memorable and set the service benchmark higher than ever before to ensure visitors enjoy the best ever holiday experience.
“Recovery initiatives like the global mega-familiarisation and the Queensland Pledge will ensure the world is getting the message that Queensland is open and that visitors don’t just come once to Queensland for a holiday, but will keep coming back,” Ms Jarratt said.
In the year ending December 2010 the Mackay region welcomed 734,000 international and domestic visitors.