MEMBER for Noosa Glen Elmes sang the praises of Tourism Noosa in parliament last week, saying the work of the team was invaluable in maintaining jobs in the region.
Mr Elmes said he congratulated the 584 business partners, scores of volunteers, the board and staff of Tourism Noosa for their hard work and successful marketing campaigns.
Mr Elmes’ comments come as new figures from Tourism Research Australia (TRA) show Noosa’s total domestic overnight visitor market grew by 16 per cent, driven largely by a strong increase in the holiday market, up 22.8 per cent.
According to the statistics, the total domestic overnight numbers for the rest of the Sunshine Coast remained stable and Queensland grew 5.6 per cent.
Mr Elmes said the results were achieved through creative thinking and hard work, which included a significant winter campaign in the interstate markets of Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.
Tourism Noosa CEO Damien Massingham said the strong increase in domestic visitors was great news for Noosa and followed on from the recent international stats showing Noosa led international visitor growth in Queensland.
“Tourism Noosa has a strategic focus on marketing interstate and has delivered ongoing campaigns into Sydney and in particular the high-yielding Melbourne market,” he said.
“Recent activity in interstate markets has included radio and digital campaigns, print advertising, billboards, a Melbourne tram wrapped in a stunning Noosa beach image, social media promotions and consumer activation campaigns.
“The higher-spending interstate market continued to grow for Noosa, up 23.5 per cent and we have seen Melbourne visitors increase by 26.3 per cent to 59,000 visitors and nights also up 9.4 per cent.”
Mr Massingham said operators were reporting strong occupancies for the upcoming school holidays in September and for the Christmas holiday period ahead.
Councillor Frank Wilkie said the latest data reinforced what the tourism and business community had been reporting, that Noosa was extremely busy.
“Although every region has its challenges, these latest tourism results show that Noosa is thriving. Not only are international numbers increasing, the domestic market continues to choose Noosa as a key destination for their holiday experience,” Cr Wilkie said.
