Rainbow Beach Commerce and Tourism Happenings

by Tony Stewart, Secretary RBCT

Since our last meeting I have written to Council on the following matters:

• Lack of rubbish bins in the central business area
• Complaints about weekend hours at the rubbish tip
• Extended hours of lighting in the front parks around BBQ areas
• Removal of old toilet block in Laurie Hanson Park and
• Council were also congratulated on improvements to the playground in Laurie Hanson Park.

There were two other matters which I have spoken to Tony Perrett about. Firstly the speed of entering town, as it had been mentioned at our last meeting that we needed a calming device or a lower speed limit.

I mentioned the danger to children crossing the main road also, and this problem has been conveyed to the Minister of Main Roads on 3rd July but no reply has been received yet.

In the matter of more overtaking lanes on our road I have been advised there is no funding from the State Government in the next four-year planning and design works on our road.

I have since written back asking for some pull-off areas with signage for slow vehicles to let traffic pass.

Maybe circulation of a petition in September for the above or wait for a change of government is the only hope!

The following meeting will be an AGM, please contact Tony with agenda items for general business: 0408 767 930

What are the stats on tourism?   

The annual number of visitors to the Gympie region is appro 1.146m, of which 703,000 are day-trippers; 370,000 domestic overnight, and 47,000 international.

The number of visitor nights spent in the region is approx 1.3m and estimated spending associated with the visitor economy is $271m.

The annual economic impact of visitor expenditure to the Gympie region amounts to: Est direct visitor spending of $270.7m; $573.6m in total output; 3474 jobs supported; $296.8m in value added – representing a contribution to gross regional product of 13.9%.

Internationally ready

Last month, Destination Gympie Region spent three days in Sydney meeting with the premier inbound tourism organisations in Australia. We had one-on-one meetings with owners, product and general managers of the largest ITO’s in Australia, and did training for over 50 staff across the companies.

We also met with the General Manager Industry Relations, Global PR Manager and social media and digital team at Tourism Australia.

The trip was very worthwhile and we spent up to two hours at some companies talking to them about the region and Rainbow Beach.

Rainbow features on Great Day Out

Great Day Out (old Great South East) filmed in the region last month, so look out for it.

Sofie Formica and the crew stayed at Rainbow Sea, did a horse ride, and kayaked with dolphins where they had whales swim under the kayak.

Andrew Saunders from Destination Gympie Region said they loved their time in Rainbow and reported that they thought the whole experience was amazing.

It is due to be aired early this month on the Seven Network.

Seafood Festival is on September 23

Tin Can Bay’s premiere event is full of family fun – crazy clowns, tricky jugglers, casual camel rides, and a whole section filled with amusement rides and helicopter ride over the Tin Can Bay inlet. Don’t miss the ever popular prawn eating and mullet throwing competitions or the Waiters Race! Enjoy stalls, pin-up pageant, loads of free activities and lots of seafood!

Who’s New at the Zoo?

Community groups and newbies to town – keep the date clear on November 4 for a RBCT welcome dinner with a difference! To find out more contact Michelle at the Rainbow Beach Cooloola Coast Community News on 5486 3561.