No wonder everyone had a good month
“There were more people on the beach in September than last January,” noted Rainbow Beach Commerce and Tourism President, Mark Beech.
The graph below is a record from Surf Lifesaving of visitors on the beach at Rainbow Beach, data provided to Commerce by Andrew Saunders, Tourism Chief at Gympie Regional Council.
Rainbow Beach Stats – January 2011 – September 2017
Rainbow Beach Stats – January 2011 – September 2017 on track for 275,000+
Council has led the charge working with Visit Sunshine Coast, introducing The Great Beach Drive and encouraging operators to be ‘international ready’.
Mark reports, “In the last three years we have had significant media, trade and industry exposure. More than ever happened in previous years and too many to list.”
The Corroboree famil last month is but one example of our tourism bodies working with locals to get Rainbow Beach international promotion – Heatley Gilmore and Mark Beech mingle with Canadians at Arcobaleno on the Beach, who say they plan to send their customers here!
He says the Corroboree famil last month is a good example of one of these many activities, where Canadian agents now know Rainbow Beach exists, and they would now like their customers to enjoy this destination. The world is looking for unique undiscovered places to visit and Rainbow ticks this box.
“Compared to 2012 and 2013 I believe we have more operators spending significantly more on promotion and we are getting significantly more support/promotion from the local, regional and state tourism organisations due to operator “buy in”. Also, we are getting noticeably more good news/positive stories out there.
“Operator marketing has definitely changed through the years with management or mindset/strategy. Rainbow Getaway has changed to a social media and international marketing powerhouse. Surf Sand Safaris was a business with one tour vehicle and for sale, to a fleet of vehicles and buses with new products and marketing internationally.
“A backyard surf school targeting the backpackers before Ty and Sean, Epic Ocean Adventures is now an international success story and YouTube sensation.
“The Rainbow Beach NZ promo is an awesome example of how businesses in Rainbow Beach are working together to promote the destination. There are many stories of this publication’s success from people getting bookings the day it hit the shelves in NZ, to copies of the insert being brought to Rainbow and left behind in rooms after people visited. The community should be proud.”
We have a number of businesses not only making regular marketing trips to Brisbane and southern states, but to international destinations which is mind-blowing for a small community the size of Rainbow Beach.
All of this work is forged on decades of promotion by RBCT members at caravan shows and marketing across Australia. Council investment in recent years has also led to more beautification of the coast.
“I think it is pretty amazing that by 2018 you will be able to walk into almost any travel agency in Australia, NZ, UK and Western Europe and either pick up a brochure with a Rainbow Beach product in or book through the agent, a Rainbow Beach product.”
There are still many opportunities for business growth and with this will come employment opportunities, which all help grow our small community.
Mark suggests we need a vehicle counter to see what the beach traffic numbers are. Find out more about how our Commerce and Tourism are helping grow industry on the coast. The next meeting is scheduled for November – contact Mark at Rainbow Ocean Palms Resort.
Data provided to Commerce by Andrew Saunders, Tourism Chief at Gympie Regional Council
| Jan-11 | Feb-11 | Mar-11 | Apr-11 | May-11 | Jun-11 | Jul-11 | Aug-11 | Sep-11 | Oct-11 | Nov-11 | Dec-11 | Total |
| 7483 | 3730 | 4294 | 5411 | 7431 | 5094 | 9832 | 9539 | 10235 | 9180 | 15778 | 13959 | 101966 |
| Jan-12 | Feb-12 | Mar-12 | Apr-12 | May-12 | Jun-12 | Jul-12 | Aug-12 | Sep-12 | Oct-12 | Nov-12 | Dec-12 | |
| 12157 | 7825 | 6142 | 6197 | 3500 | 3957 | 4519 | 4606 | 8568 | 6144 | 7051 | 9348 | 80014 |
| Jan-13 | Feb-13 | Mar-13 | Apr-13 | May-13 | Jun-13 | Jul-13 | Aug-13 | Sep-13 | Oct-13 | Nov-13 | Dec-13 | |
| 14446 | 3201 | 3739 | 7439 | 5967 | 4674 | 5387 | 6615 | 8503 | 6818 | 6411 | 11502 | 84702 |
| Jan-14 | Feb-14 | Mar-14 | Apr-14 | May-14 | Jun-14 | Jul-14 | Aug-14 | Sep-14 | Oct-14 | Nov-14 | Dec-14 | |
| 14785 | 4975 | 3535 | 7292 | 6083 | 5920 | 7867 | 6364 | 12540 | 13533 | 13626 | 30669 | 127189 |
| Jan-15 | Feb-15 | Mar-15 | Apr-15 | May-15 | Jun-15 | Jul-15 | Aug-15 | Sep-15 | Oct-15 | Nov-15 | Dec-15 | |
| 18864 | 7719 | 9910 | 13285 | 10866 | 10548 | 10844 | 11320 | 17339 | 7111 | 11044 | 26180 | 155030 |
| Jan-16 | Feb-16 | Mar-16 | Apr-16 | May-16 | Jun-16 | Jul-16 | Aug-16 | Sep-16 | Oct-16 | Nov-16 | Dec-16 | |
| 29846 | 8614 | 13772 | 11512 | 17130 | 11299 | 16677 | 13247 | 21627 | 20100 | 18102 | 30101 | 212027 |
| Jan-17 | Feb-17 | Mar-17 | Apr-17 | May-17 | Jun-17 | Jul-17 | Aug-17 | Sep-17 | ||||
| 32863 | 17290 | 13682 | 14761 | 23867 | 18527 | 24600 | 24432 | 33945 | 203967 | |||
| 2017 on track for 275,000+ | ||||||||||||
