Wrecked bid wrecks wrecks bid

Tourism Whitsundays has spent three years on a failed bid to secure funding for its much vaunted dive wreck trail.

And the project leader believes the local community will not support it financially.

The much touted project had been heavily promoted as being the saviour for the local diving industry. The importance of the project warranted several mentions in the Tourism Whitsundays Annual Reports of 2007 - 2009, as well as this press release (left dated 30 June 2009).

However, the three years of wages and resources spent on this project may have come to null as the application for Federal funding of $500,000 for the project has failed.

Leader of the project was Tourism Whitsunday Destination Management Officer, Mr Mark Turner, who said "it is an important project for the region, but it will be hard to raise the money locally."

Mr Turner also acknowledged the major slump in tourism numbers to the Whitsundays: "With tourism the way it's been travelling in more recent times, I think it wouldn't be too hard to figure out that it would be a big ask for the local community to try and stump that up," he said.


Sources

7 News 6 April 2010
A proposal to create the first artificial dive wreck in the Whitsundays, off north Queensland, has failed to secure Federal Government funding.

WIN TV 6 April 2010
Plans to dive into a new tourism attraction, by creating a deep sea wreck for adventurers have been sunk.

ABC News 30 October 2008
Tourism Whitsundays is considering a proposal to scuttle a B-52 bomber to use as a dive wreck in the north Queensland region.


74 ISLANDS ENDLESS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND SERVICES
Tourism Whitsundays - Annual Report 2007-2008
Tourism Whitsundays has undertaken an increased responsibility for encouraging the
development of infrastructure and tourism experiences that enhance the
destinations competitive strengths and assist in the delivery of the 74 Island brand
promise..... Dive Wreck


Chief Executive Officer’s Report:
Tourism Whitsundays - Annual Report 2008-2009
The second year for our Destination Management Officer Marc Turner has seen
progress across a variety of projects. There was a regional product audit to identify
mainland tourism opportunities, feasibility studies into the Marine Discovery Centre
and a local Dive Wreck, and a large grant application for the latter.


6.4 Destination Development
Tourism Whitsundays - Annual Report 2008-2009
Goal: To facilitate infrastructure and product development essential to the destination becoming one of the leading tropical island destinations in the world.
Action 2: Completion of Dive Wreck feasibility project Q3-08