A report in today’s Townsville Bulletin says Queensland tourism statistics show Townsville as the third highest tourist destination in the State.
Townsville Enterprise CEO Glenys Schuntner said the past 12 months had exceeded expectations, adding, “We’ve got great results there, they are up nearly 18 per cent for the year ending June 2006 and that is way above the state and national average”. “Our occupancy rate is the third highest in the State.”
The Townsville Bulletin took to the streets yesterday to find out what tourists wanted out of their holiday in the tropics, and what the Townsville region could offer them, with The Strand, Magnetic Island, Reef HQ and a friendly family atmosphere rated the highest as drawcards to the city.
Melbourne family Geoffrey Fithall, Karen Moxey and daughter Ruby Moxey-Fithall told the Townsville Bulleting that Townsville instantly appealed to them because of the atmosphere adding, “When we pulled into town we just got a really nice feel about the place and it was somewhere we all agreed we’d like to spend more than just a couple of nights.”
The latest Accommodation Trends ranked Townsville just behind Mackay and the Gold Coast as tourist hotspots with the highest occupancy rates, with Ms Schuntner saying that word of mouth was proving to be best form of advertising for the region and that it was important to continue to expand the range of attractions the region had to offer.
Ms Schuntner added the region was coping well with tourist demand.
Report by The Mole from the Townsville Bulletin
