General News
7 February, 2023
Tourism to drive shire
WITH $20 million spent by visitors in the Mareeba Shire in one month alone last year, tourism is quickly becoming a strong pillar of the local economy, and a new organisation to be launched tomorrow will be seeking to make the region a must-see destination.
The Mareeba Shire Local Tourism Organisation (LTO) is a collaboration between the Mareeba Chamber of Commerce, Mareeba Shire Council, Kuranda Traders Association and the Mareeba Heritage Museum and Visitor Information Centre.
The organisation will focus on promoting Mareeba as a must-see destination and highlight the different locations and experiences the town has to offer.
A report presented at Mareeba Shire Council’s latest meeting revealed that over the past four years visitor expenditure had been increasing as visitors spent $156 million in the shire over the 2022 calendar year.
LTO Chair and Mareeba Councillor Lenore Wyatt told the meeting it was amazing to see just how much money visitors were spending.
“What a great example – this is how much money that is actually being spent here in our shire,” she said.
Kuranda has also experienced a revival in visitor numbers, recording over 20,000 people visiting the Kuranda Visitor Information Centre, the first time the centre has recorded that many people since 2019.
Cr Wyatt was also pleased to see the increased online interest in the area with the shire’s digital marketing campaign seeing a 161 per cent increase in “clicks”, 28,409 total clicks from mid-June 2021 to December 2022.
“This means people are out there looking and they are looking that much more at our area which is really wonderful,” she said.
“If we can see that visitor spend increasing, that is really great news for our shire and with us kicking off Mareeba Shire Tourism, it is great information to share with everyone.”
The LTO has its official launch this Thursday at the Billabong in Kuranda from 5.30pm with Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO Mark Olsen as a special guest.
Cr Wyatt said the LTO would continue to support sustainable visitor and economic growth for the shire.
“After more than 20 years supporting a local tourism organisation with a regional remit, feedback from many operators is that a dedicated LTO model focusing on the Mareeba Shire's tour-ism industry is required,” Cr Wyatt said.
Mareeba Chamber of Commerce president Joe Moro said tourism was one of Mareeba Shire’s main economic drivers.
“In this initial phase the chamber is auspicing the LTO,” Mr Moro said.
“Mareeba Shire Council is the primary source of funding for Mareeba Shire Tourism, with secretariat costs to be shared by both the chamber and council.”
The next stage of the LTO will be a Tourism Think Tank due to be held in Mareeba in March.
