Members of Queensland’s 13 Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) met in Gladstone yesterday to collaborate on future tourism priorities for the State and continue to grow tourism across all regions.
The Queensland Regional Tourism Network (QRTN) meeting coincided with the Local Government Association of Queensland’s Annual Conference to show support for and allow further collaboration with Councils.
QRTN Chair Mark Olsen said Councils play a critical role in providing much needed support to RTOs to drive visitation and growth in their region.
“Tourism is a $22 Billion industry and one of Queensland’s largest industries, contributing to strong economic growth and liveability,” he said. “Our partnerships with Councils ensure a stronger, more aligned tourism industry overall.
“We not only promote tourism products and help grow tourism businesses, we look for solutions to challenges such as financial sustainability, workforce shortages, and the rising cost of living. Mr Olsen said the QRTN has a significant impact on industry success, with almost 2 million leads generated by RTO websites in 2022-23, and over 2,000 Best of Queensland Experiences across the 13 regions.
“We’re proud of what we’re achieving as a network, particularly the strong leadership and coordination role we play with industry, community, local government and Tourism and Events Queensland to bolster tourism across this State.
“Our approach is to work smarter and more collaboratively to achieve outcomes that would take considerably longer individually.
“We’re delighted that some of our RTOs could attend the LGAQ conference in Gladstone and share the learnings, knowledge and experience with our colleagues and members,” Mr Olsen said.
Mr Olsen said the QRTN was keen to further collaborate with Councils and would actively participate in future knowledge sharing opportunities.
