More than 100 Redlands’ tourism providers descended on North Stradbroke Island today (20 May) as part of the 2014 Tourism Summit.
Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said the event was an initiative of Redland City Council with support from Tourism and Events Queensland and provided an opportunity for tourism providers to hear from some very successful operators from across Australia and build stronger collaborative relationships.
“The Redlands has unique tourism offerings including nature based tourism, which is enhanced by the city’s strong environmental character as well as an emerging cultural tourism sector thanks to a vibrant Indigenous community and strong links with our history,” she said.
“The Redlands has some obvious advantages when it comes to tourism, namely our location as a city of islands with beautiful beaches.
“Our tourism offerings also extend to the mainland with lush hinterland featuring eco-tourism.
“But our strengths go beyond our location; we also have some fantastic businesses that have built strong tourism offerings and today was an opportunity to showcase these businesses while also hearing from industry leaders on how to strengthen our tourism sector.
The advantages of natural and cultural tourism were discussed by the first key note speaker Grant Hunt, founder of Anthology, a specialist nature and cultural tourism company providing experiences in remote and sensitive locations.
Other key note speakers on the day included Rob Pennicott from Tasmanian cruise company Pennicott Wilderness Journeys, marketing specialists Charlotte Prouse, from Destination Marketing Store (DMS) and Gary Bertwistle from Blue Moon Creative and Margie Ryder from the Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival.
Division 1 Councillor for North Stradbroke Island Cr Craig Ogilvie said while we have some fantastic experiences and strong local companies, there are always new ways to revitalise ourselves and reach new customers.
“Events like today are great for exploring those opportunities and networking as an industry,” he said.
