Tilma’s 5 takeaways from the Queensland state tourism conference

1. Nature conservation + regeneration

I appreciated hearing multiple times that the government wants to grow ecotourism, but only ecotourism that protects and even improves the natural environment, and inspires guests to become ‘conservation warriors’. Strict rules for respecting the environment and Traditional Owners will continue to apply as approvals are made easier.

If you have a great idea for a place-making, nature-based ecotourism tourism offering in Queensland based on innovative architectural design, meaningful and transformation experiences, authentic storytelling, and regenerative environmental stewardship, let Matt Bron at DETSI know – he’s looking for 45 world class ones to support! This support is based on an increase in demand for nature-based tourism of around 50%. He also is looking for great examples of waste management or power delivery in remote regions, or…

2. Travel spend is decreasing + how to respond

83% of Australians are reducing how much they spend on travel. But 20% say travel is their top priority and half say travel is more important than other discretionary spending.

The number of trips that people are taking in Australia is slightly up (by 2%) but spend per trip is decreasing (down by 3%). Travellers are booking cheaper or fewer trips, or shortening their trip, or choosing a lower cost destination.

Solution:

Deliver experiences that feel exceptional for the price. Perceived value is driving travel decisions.

3. New narrowbody planes = international flights to regions

New narrowbody planes are opening up opportunities for regional airports to connect with international destinations.

This new era of planes have only 4-6 seats and 1 aisle, carry only about 200 passengers, use about 1/3 less fuel (so cost less to run), and travel very long distances, meaning it is lower risk for airlines to trial new routes.

Half of Queensland’s tourism businesses are in regional and remote communities. The huge demand for the $5m Regional Tourism Infrastructure Fund – 347 applications! – demonstrates an opportunity for the government to increase its support for projects that will grow dispersal to rural and remote Queensland over the next three years of this grant program.

4. Lots of tourism improvements by the State

Just one year in, and having co-created a 20 year tourism strategy with industry, the Queensland government is

Treating tourism as one of 3 key economic drivers
Optimistic about being on track ready for the Olympics
Aiming to position Queensland as a global nature-based tourism leader
Legislating for Councils to control local tourism development rather than the state (decentralising control)
Attracting major large-scale events
Having all local government planning schemes and regional development plans updated – and requiring every Council to consider tourism (and 4 other themes) in their plans
Helping Councils improve their planning regulations to support agritourism development
Reducing costs of building hotels and the clunkiness of approvals
Reducing paperwork for permits, and helping operators transition to longer-term permits
Supporting disaster resilience of infrastructure such as bridges which will enable faster cleanup and visitation by travellers post-disasters
Providing a stipend to encourage students to visit the reef and the outback
Helping to reinstate previously abandoned island resorts
Investing into transport infrastructure, and embedding transport into all planning decisions
Investing in growing flights to Queensland, and adding transport connectivity at destinations – ideally mass transit, but also hire vehicles in remote regions.

5. 3 tips for using AI to attract visitors

Travellers can now not only get recommendations from software such as ChatGPT, but book from within them. To appear in AI recommendations, add content to your website that is hyper targeted to your ideal visitors – use AI to help you craft content about your offering that speaks to their detailed needs and interests.

Use AI to develop many micro campaigns, each targeting people with different needs (e.g. travelling with kids or with pets or with access needs, or tweaking the language to resonate with GenZ or Gen Alpha).

You can use AI to animate still images to increase engagement - here’s how. A great example was used of a sunset landscape, animated as if a drone were flying over the scene.

See you there next year?

It was so fun to catch up with our clients and colleagues across our industry - operators, destination managers, and those in government.

Kushla joined Tilma’s regular collaborator, Jayne of JJ Strategic Consulting to help Kathleen, the project manager of the (free!) Queensland Welcomes You training host an exhibition stand at the convention.

Having developed this course for the state department of tourism and Queensland’s regional tourism organisations with Jayne, we are excited to continue supporting the course for the next 12 months under the guidance of its new ‘owner’, Queensland Tourism Industry Council. We can't wait to see further growth as the program is embedded as a cornerstone of Queensland’s Destination 2045 and the Brisbane 2032 Legacy Framework.

Let’s make Queensland the friendliest and most welcoming state in the world! Every welcome counts!