Paleo tourism on the menu to boost outback numbers

A recent economic development forum hosted in Charleville heard that events and school tours, together with a world-class array of fossils all the way from Riversleigh to Eromanga, are being utilised as change agents to see plateauing visitation levels boosted.

In doing so, the state government’s marketing agent hopes to create lasting memories that people will want to repeat and share.

TEQ director Matt Bron told the South West Regional Economic Development forum it was this that would give destinations a competitive advantage over those offering products only.

“Experiences are what you go home and talk about,” Mr Bron said. “If you went two weeks travelling around the outback and did some things such as went to the dinosaurs, went to Birdsville and climbed Big Red, these are all experiences that for the rest of your life you’ll talk about.”

He said these memories established a greater emotional connection with tourists than, for example, a “fly and flop” at a two-bedroom unit on a coastline somewhere.

According to Outback Queensland Tourism Association general manager, Peter Homan, the outback has been outperforming Queensland in visitation numbers, with forward bookings “really strong”, thanks to its five ‘hero’ experiences – heritage, landscapes, skies, and quirky characters, as well as the paleolithic attractions.

Strong interest is being experienced from New Zealand, for which a new drive product is being developed for travel agencies to sell.

“They love having something other than the Gold Coast to push,” Peter said. “We are such an authentic experience for people.”

Engaging attention through social media is “really booming”, he added, saying that people liked using it to show how far off the beaten track they were to the world.

“It’s something we can take advantage of,” he said.

Because of this, Peter believed events were an important part of growing tourism for outback towns, saying it was free advertising when people talked.

In the meantime, the message for communities is to be appealing and welcoming.

Matt said it was time to drop the attitude that tourists were pests, like a feral dog or weed.

“When a tourist eats beef or lamb, they pay for it – pests don’t.

“It’s important to understand tourists are there to enjoy the place and spend a bit of money if they want to, but if they don’t enjoy it then they’ll move on.”

Local government attendees at the forum were reminded that many of the attractions tourists saw were provided by councils in small towns where private investment couldn’t gain enough traction.

They were told to start with the premise that wifi was”absolutely vital” in attracting and keeping tourists these days.

“Connectivity is essential to people in this day and age,” Peter said.