LATEST SURVEY RESULTS SHOW SUPPORT FOR NATURE BASED TOURISM IN WHITSUNDAYS

The latest results from an on-going survey funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, has revealed areas of potential growth in the Whitsundays tourism industry.

The survey showed the Whitsundays offered tourists much more than they expected said Research Fellow with the James Cook University Tourism Program, Dr Gianna Moscardo.

"Of the 2,500 visitors surveyed, many made positive comments about the depth of tourism opportunities available in the Whitsundays," said Dr Moscardo.

"Those people who did activities on the mainland were very positive about the quality of the natural environment away from the islands and particularly the bird life and wildlife. We hadn't picked that up in any other regions.

"There were also people who said that they thought it was just an island based destination and they hadn't really appreciated how much else there was to do.

"So there are opportunities there to expand into tourism with a more wildlife focus and eco-tourism opportunities that are based in the hinterland as well as out on the islands."

The survey showed there are still some lessons to be learnt in marketing the Whitsundays' island and reef tourism experiences, said Dr Moscardo.

"Many of those surveyed also noted that they hadn't expected there to be such a variety of activities," Dr Moscardo said. "For example, the opportunity to package the different islands together in a day trip.

"They all responded to it very well but that wasn't something they had in their mind before they got there. So, certainly, that is an opportunity that the industry could make more out of."

Just under half the visitors to the Whitsundays are from North America and Europe. Many of these visitors had the perception that the Whitsunday Islands give them then chance to find 'seclusion' and to relax, Dr Moscardo said.

The region attracts a higher proportion of Queensland visitors and accounts for more repeat visitors than other destinations on the Great Barrier Reef.

Attention Editors/Chiefs of Staff: Dr Moscardo can be contacted on 07 4781 4254.