Corporate News Archives - Tourism Atherton Tablelands

Atherton Tablelands Touring Map focus on Self-Drive Family Market

Aug 23, 2022

A fully restored steam locomotive engine will be centre stage at the launch of Tourism Atherton Tablelands’ 2022-23 Discover Touring Map at the Atherton Herberton Historic Railway, today August 23.

Eddy Nye, chair of Tourism Atherton Tablelands, said the Discover Touring Map campaign had targeted the domestic self-drive family market looking to have a holiday in Australia with images and information on the many trails and attractions throughout the region.

“We want to inspire families to cherish the time while their children are young to make new and special memories together – a lifetime of magical holiday memories,” Mr Nye said.

“We are delighted to launch the Discover Touring Map at the Atherton Herberton Historic Railway and showcase their pride and joy.

“It’s not just the kids who are delighted and excited by trains, especially glorious old steam engines that suggest fun, adventure, history and cultural heritage, all of which can be found on our beautiful Atherton Tablelands.”

He said 150,000 copies of the DL double-sided fold out touring map had been printed. A targeted advertising campaign across Townsville and Mackay coincided with the distribution of 100,000 touring maps into these major regional areas via targeted letterbox drops.

“A further 50,000 had been distributed to high-traffic visitor information centres, brochure boards and tour desks in Cairns, Port Douglas, Cassowary Coast and the Tablelands, and to high-traffic visitor information centres from Innisfail south to Rockhampton and west to Charters Towers and Emerald,” he said.

The campaign is supported by a comprehensive, digital version of Discover Magazine 2022/23, a seven themed drive trails booklet with content featured in the magazine and advertising in the Discover Touring Map, and a Discover Atherton Tablelands app.

The themed drives – Heritage, Great Outdoors, Museums and Galleries, Waterfalls and Waterways, Geological Wonders, Landscapes, and Wildlife and Food Trails — are designed to link tourism attractions and activities across the region.

New Youtube videos themed around ‘Discover Your Joy’ feature four unique family adventures – Overnight Camping, Crater Lakes and Outdoor Movies, Herberton Mountain Biking, and Misty Mountains Adventures.

Between April 1 and June 28, Discover Atherton Tablelands social media assets had two million impressions, as part of its touring map campaign.

“We continue to see an uplift in the use of Atherton Tablelands digital assets and through the use of the Discover Atherton Tablelands app we can reach a great audience,” Mr Nye said. Overall for the 2021/22, Atherton Tablelands social media assets reached 10 million people.

Mr Nye acknowledged Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ), which partnered with Tourism Atherton Tablelands in the $70,000 Discover Touring Map campaign.

The touring map is part of the Atherton Tablelands Discover Perfect promotion of the region, aimed at attracting the self-drive and fly-drive market to experience the rich heritage charm, outstanding natural beauty, and foodie and cultural attractions the Atherton Tablelands offers in its unique altitudinal setting in the tropics.

“The Atherton Tablelands is a popular self-drive destination and we encourage people who live within one day’s drive to experience for themselves why it is so special up here,” Mr Nye added.

Industry Event

Aug 8, 2022

Join us on Tuesday 23rd August 11:00 am at Atherton-Herberton Historic Railway for a member and industry networking event.

This is a great opportunity to network with other members, hear the outcomes of the Atherton Tablelands Touring Map campaign, the results of the last 12 months marketing activity delivered by Tourism Atherton Tablelands and see the incredible work by the team at Atherton-Herberton Historic Railway.

LOCATION

Atherton-Herberton Historic Railway is located on John Street, Herberton.

Coming from Atherton, at the end of the main street turn right down the hill, over the grid. Normal parking is over the track but for this event, park along the tyre wall near the workshop.

Google Map

RSVP HERE

http://athrail.com/

Atherton-Herberton Historic Railway
A not for profit organisation formed , run and managed by a group of passionate volunteers who are dedicated to bringing our 107 year old railway history to life for the benefit of the Atherton Tablelands community and visitors.

Atherton Tablelands’ Stars Tell It Like It Is In Tourism Promo Videos

Aug 31, 2021

The people and personalities of the Atherton Tablelands feature in a series of new videos encouraging self-drive and fly-drive visitors to experience the region’s heritage charm, outstanding natural beauty, and foodie and cultural attractions.

From innovative trail blazers in the gourmet and bush tucker food industries to Indigenous cultural heritage, pioneer history and wildlife interpreters to nature loving adventurers, each gives a unique insight into why the Atherton Tablelands is such a special place and why people should visit.

The two-to-three minute videos are part of the six-month ‘Discover Perfect’ campaign, highlighting the Atherton Tablelands and its hero experiences.

‘Stars’ tell their unique stories amid naturally beautiful environments, from the rainforest and waterfalls of the southern Tablelands through to the open forest and crystal waters of Davies Creek near Mareeba and beyond to the sculptured savannah landscapes.

Full of warmth and wonder, the compact works were created by Tanya Snelling for Tourism Atherton Tablelands, to centre around the organisation’s themed trails map booklet, published in the trademark Discover Magazine.

Eddy Nye, chair of Tourism Atherton Tablelands, said the videos aimed to show just how special the people of the Atherton Tablelands were and to shine the spotlight on some of those in the industry.

“The Atherton Tablelands is a special place and that is reflected by those who live here. They are the real stars and the perfect choice to promote the perfect experiences we have here,” Mr Nye said.

Those featured include Frank Gallo from Gallo Dairyland, famous for its cheese and chocolate, and Geraldine Maguire from Rainforest Bounty (Food Trail), Darryl Cooper from the Historic Village Herberton (History Trail), Willie Brim from Buluwai Country (Cultural Heritage Trail), hiker and adventurer Michael Warren (Great Outdoors Trail), and Alan Gillanders (Wildlife Trail).

Mr Gillanders has operated Alan’s Wildlife Tours, a natural history tour specialising in birds and mammals, for more than 20 years.

“It is a real delight when somebody has wanted to see something for a long time and we manage to give them a good view of it. They just light up and, in some cases, they tear up,” Mr Gillanders said.

Willie Brim, Buluwai Cultural Custodian, is proud to share stories and the wonders of the savannah and rainforest, including ancient rock art, of his country.

“Keeping the culture alive and sharing stories is very important – it helps people really understand the way we look at country and the way we look at life in general,” he said.

For Geraldine McGuire, the destruction of thousands of acres of prime rainforest in Indonesia was so devastating that on her return home to Australia, together with her husband they purchased an old farm and began replanting rainforest together with tropical fruit trees.

Today, Rainforest Bounty is known for its innovative and award-winning tropical fruit products and cooking school.

“We want to leave a legacy of a whole new industry that’s available for the Atherton Tablelands that is based on regenerative farming, regenerating soil health and promoting diversity,” Ms McGuire said.

This project was funded under the Commonwealth/State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements 2018 Community Development Program provided through the Flexible Funding Grant program.

Tourism Atherton Tablelands 2020/21 Annual Report

Jul 15, 2021

Tourism Atherton Tablelands has released the 2020/21 Annual Report with the Marketing Snapshot detailing the results of marketing activities delivered throughout the year promoting the Atherton Tablelands as a holiday destination.

Click on image above to download

Discover Magazine and Maps Drives the Atherton Tablelands

May 24, 2021

The Atherton Tablelands is the focus of an exciting new regional destination marketing campaign aimed at attracting the self-drive and fly-drive market to experience the rich heritage charm, outstanding natural beauty, foodie and cultural attractions of the region.

Discover Magazine, along with its new printed companion Discover Touring Map, will be launched on May 25 to Tourism Atherton Tablelands’ members at Kur-Cow in Kuranda.

Eddy Nye, chair of the local tourism organisation, said the launch would officially kick off a six-month Discover Perfect campaign, aimed at raising awareness of the Atherton Tablelands and its hero experiences.

“We have been able to build on the success of Discover magazine visitor guide, which has been the major in-print promotional publication for our region over the last three decades.

“This is an exciting and dynamic all-encompassing marketing campaign that stretches across print, TV, social media, Atherton Tablelands’ digital assets, direct mail, and publicity.”

Mr Nye said in addition to the 80,000 visitor guides that have been printed and will be distributed through visitor information centres, and major caravan and camping shows, 150,000 touring maps would also hit the market with a targeted focus on the key drive regions of Townsville and Mackay

“The Atherton Tablelands is a popular self-drive destination and we are excited to encourage those that live within one day’s drive to experience for themselves why it is so special,” Mr Nye added.

The touring map also incorporates user-friendly themed trail maps, which will be available on the Discover Atherton Tablelands app, for Apple and Android devices.

The self-drive trails combine postcard-perfect landscapes, indulgent gourmet delights, cultural and historic highpoints and stunning natural attractions.

“There are seven themed drives – Heritage, Great Outdoors, Museums and Galleries, Waterfalls and Waterways, Geological Wonders, Landscapes, and Wildlife and Food Trails. These are designed to link tourism attractions and activities across the region.

“While visitors can tailor their holiday around the types of experiences that interest them, the routes are designed to take them through the various towns and areas and introduce them to new and different activities to enjoy.”

Mr Nye said letterbox drops and in-print advertising would also be underpinned by a two-month television campaign.

Phase two of the marketing activity will also see social media advertising, a digital video showcase, and a consumer competition to win a holiday on the Atherton Tablelands.

Mr Nye also acknowledged Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) for its support of the new initiative.

“Discover has the largest distribution of any regional visitor guide and the trails are a hit with travellers so producing the Touring Map was an obvious move,” he said.

“We are delighted with the quality of our Discover Magazine, which can also be accessed online and via the Discover App. It’s the most comprehensive, informative and engaging publication in the region, which has been the cornerstone of its success over all these years.”

Work in Paradise Campaign

May 20, 2021

The Queensland Government and TTNQ are offering job seekers the chance to get paid to work and play in Cairns & Great Barrier Reef.

The Queensland Government launched the Work in Paradise campaign in Cairns today to lure workers from across Australia to take a tourism job in regional Queensland.

The $7.5 million package aims to address a critical shortage of workers at tourism businesses and will deliver a $1500 incentive for workers to keep a job and a $250 travel bonus to encourage workers to travel from outside our region for a job.

TTNQ will give eligible workers who travel more than 100km a $200 Cairns Holiday Dollar voucher to ensure they not only work hard but play hard in Cairns & Great Barrier Reef.

The tourism industry in Cairns & Great Barrier Reef has been creating 60 jobs a week since tourism started booming in February, but without the international travellers and students our operators are finding it hard to meet the growing demand.

Our international travellers are missing, and our operators are struggling to meet the surge in domestic demand. This is paradise, but it is not just our world class nature that makes the difference for holidaymakers, it is the people who create the memorable experiences.

This winter we want to help the businesses that are trying to close the $2 billion gap left behind by COVID-19 and ensure they have the staff to offer the great tourism experiences that have made Cairns & Great Barrier Reef a sought after international travel destination.

The incentive applies to job seekers who start work from 20 May 2021, and will begin payments to workers from 1 July 2021. The program is open for 12 months, but applications must be made within the next six months.

Eligible jobs include bar tenders, dive masters, kitchen hands, waiters and chefs and accommodation is available at a range of share house, homes stay and hostels.

Work in Paradise will connect jobseekers with jobs and potentially provide a pathway to a long-term career in the tourism industry in your dream location.

The Queensland Government and TTNQ will run a national advertising campaign including regular news features on the regions new staff and their stories.

How you can help

We encourage all operators to share this link: Cairnsgreatbarrierreef.com/workinparadise on social media and LinkedIn to ensure workers around Australia know Cairns & Great Barrier Reef is the place to work and play. We also need you to share the stories of your new employees with TTNQ so we can publicise them, and please encourage others to get involved.