Friday, 23 October 2015

Lady Musgrave experience a $10 million boost for Bundy tourism

A new luxury day tour to Lady Musgrave Island is expected to bring up to 25,000 extra visitors to Bundaberg and about $10 million to the local economy each year.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Tourism Minister Kate Jones joined Member for Bundaberg Leanne Donaldson at the Bundaberg Marina today to officially launch the new tourism operation – the Lady Musgrave Experience.

Ms Palaszczuk said the brand new, luxury, high-speed catamaran – The Main Event – would take up to 150 visitors to Lady Musgrave Island a day.

“This is another great reason for Queenslanders to visit Bundaberg,” she said.

“On Lady Musgrave Island, tourists will experience the wonder of the Great Barrier Reef through snorkelling and scuba diving, glass bottom boats and island nature walks.

“This is the first time in eight years that this kind of experience to Lady Musgrave Island is available from the Bundaberg Marina.

“It is expected to be a popular new tourist experience bringing up to 25,000 extra visitors to Bundaberg each year.

“I congratulate Lady Musgrave Experience owner and operator Brett Lakey for providing this exciting new tourist experience.”

At the launch, Minister Jones also announced a new $400,000 tourism marketing campaign to encourage more Queenslanders to visit Bundaberg and the Southern Great Barrier Reef.

“The Bundaberg region is a beautiful part of Queensland with tourists drawn by its natural wonders,” Ms Jones said.

“For South East Queenslanders, it is just a four-hour drive to Bundaberg to experience the Great Barrier Reef and other attractions like Heron, Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliot islands, the Mon Repos Turtle Centre and the Hinkler Hall of Aviation.

“We know the tourism market is very competitive and this new Where Great Begins campaign on outdoor, digital and social media will encourage more Queenslanders to experience the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.

“The Palaszczuk Government recognises that tourism is a vital industry in the Southern Great Barrier Reef region which supports more than 15,000 jobs and contributes $1.6 billion to the regional economy.

“This region – including Bundaberg North Burnett, Gladstone and Capricorn – has seen the strongest growth in domestic travel of any destination in the state over the last year welcoming almost two million travellers – an increase of 15 per cent on the previous year.

“We are excited to see this important local industry grow.”

Member for Bundaberg Leanne Donaldson said the new Where Great Begins campaign would continue to drive tourism growth in the region.

“This campaign is promoting local tourism experiences and holiday packages to the region,” Ms Donaldson said.

“Targeting South East Queensland residents, the campaign promotes how accessible Bundaberg and the reef is, encouraging travel in the lead up to summer.

“We are committed to growing our local tourism industry because tourism growth means more jobs for locals.”

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