Monday, May 3, 2010

Smoke and mirrors cover a region of broken dreams and promises

Just one and a half months ago, journalists and other recipients of  press releases from Tourism Whitsundays were led to believe, by the CEO, Mr Peter O'Reilly, that tourism in the Whitsundays was 'bucking the trend'.

Last week, the Chairman of Tourism Whitsundays, Mr Chris Jacobs, said (in the Whitsunday Times) that "Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays is at crisis point"; with domestic tourism slumping 26% - something we (Whitsundays News) have been saying for over a year now.

How could circumstances (according to Tourism Whitsundays) change so much in just over a month? Why were journalists being given a false impression? Will journalists trust future statements and press releases from TW in the future?

And on a related note - two of Airlie Beach's most expensive homes ($10m+) went on the market last week:
Mansion once owned by owner of Hog's Breath Cafe's
Mansion owned by Whitsunday developer Bill Sharpe


28 April 2010 - Whitsunday Times
Tourism in Whitsundays at Crisis Point.

15 April 2010 - Whitsundays News
Peter O'Reilly: "Unfortunately we will not escape unscathed as Tuesday and Wednesday services from Melbourne and Brisbane to Hamilton Island will be cut during the months of May and June."

13 April 2010 - Whitsundays News
Mark Turner, Tourism 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."

19 March 2010 - ABC News
Tourism Whitsundays chief executive Peter O'Reilly says the figures are not completely accurate and says the decrease is about 8 per cent over three years.

18 March 2010 - Whitsundays News
Australian visitors to the Whitsundays slump a massive 26%

15 March 2010 - ABC News
Tourism Whitsundays in north Queensland says a 1 per cent increase in international visitor numbers in the past year is good news.

11 March 2010 - Whitsundays News
Just a little over 2 months after the end of the 'Best Job in the World' campaign, tourism numbers and cash flow in some of the most popular tourism destinations on the Great Barrier Reef are plunging to new lows.

2 March 2010 - Whitsundays News
Failed eBay campaign sends interest in travel to Airlie Beach rock bottom

11 February 2010 - Whitsundays News
Worldwide tourism interest in Airlie Beach hit its lowest levels in over 6 years last month.

28 January 2010 - Whitsunday Times
Ex Tourism Whitsunday Chairperson awarded Whitsundays Citizen of the Year.

20 January 2010 - Whitsundays News
Is their still major disunity within Tourism Whitsundays?

19 January 2010 - ABC News
Tourism Whitsundays says it is confident a promotional trip to the United States by Queensland's tourism ambassador will generate interest in the region.

15 January 2010 - Whitsundays News
Are Airlie Beach tourist numbers down 30%-40%?

14 January 2010 - Daily Mercury
Less than one tenth of the number of existing businesses (150) in the Whitsundays complete TW Flight survey.

7 January 2010 - Daily Mercury
THE people are still coming. That is the message from Whitsunday tourism businesses who say tourist numbers over Christmas and into the New Year in the Whitsundays have been strong. 

2 January 2010 - Daily Mercury
While many destinations struggled in 2009, Mr Phillips and Mr O’Reilly said Mackay and the Whitsundays weathered the storm very well. The Best Job in the World campaign was a huge success, Mr O’Reilly said.

16 December 2009 - Whitsundays News
Whitsundays domestic tourism down again - this time by 16%

2 December 2009 - AsiaTravelTips.com
Ex Marketing Manager for TW appointed as new Sales Manager - Leisure, Daydream Island Resort.

26 November 2009 - Whitsunday Times
Chief Executive Officer Peter O’Reilly said TW was working hard to reach the minimum target of 500 surveys per airport and at this stage it looked like they would achieve that and possibly more.

26 November 2009 - ABC News
"While the vast majority of our accommodation is four- and five-star apartments, they actually enjoy the backpackers being there because they're something that gives Airlie it's vitality and it's life" Mr O'Reilly said.

26 November 2009 - Whitsunday Times
“We’ve applied for funding to get a dive wreck sunk and if that funding is approved I’d expect it to be a real catalyst to entice divers back here,” said Mr Peter O'Reilly.

12 November 2009 - Whitsunday Times
Following that survey a business case will be put together by Tourism Whitsundays which will be taken to the airlines.
 
14 November 2009 - Whitsundays News
After several years of reading and listening to the local media, I wondered why there was clearly some exaggeration in some articles and stories about TW and TW run events, so I did some digging around and found out why.

13 November 2009 - Whitsundays News
Our story on the effectiveness of 'The Best Job in the World' (WBJ) campaign was read widely (many thanks to Mumbrella and others).

8 November 2009 - Whitsundays News
The current Queensland Tourism campaign, 'The World's Best Job' (WBJ), has won almost every award for Marketing and Advertising, in Australia and Overseas. The other big winner has been Hamilton Island, owned by the Oatley Family. However, the results have yet to bear fruit for the rest of 'The Big Island' (the Whitsundays and Queensland).

12 November 2009 - Whitsunday Times
Tourism Whitsundays CEO Peter O’Reilly met with Mr Langbroek on Thursday and said he seemed to have a good grasp of the requirements of leisure tourists.

29 October 2009 - Whitsundays News
Tourism Whitsundays is about to start lobbying the airlines for a daily morning flight in and out of the Whitsundays.

15 October 2009 - Whitsundays News
Who would have guessed a couple of years ago that the 'Tourism Whitsundays Backpackers Accommodation Award' would not be given out this year - because no one entered for the Award.

7 October 2009 - Whitsundays News
Tourism Whitsundays director admits "Lack of Unity"

1 October 2009 - Whitsunday Times
Tourism Whitsundays CEO Peter O'Reilly said members would look back on the 2008/09 financial year as a significant turning point in the history of the organisation.

25 September 2009 - Whitsundays News
Tourism Whitsundays Chairperson to resign mid term

17 September 2009 - ABC News
Tourism Whitsundays chief executive Peter O'Reilly has contested the results, saying an upcoming survey for the Mackay-Whitsundays region will give more accurate findings.

17 September 2009 - Whitsundays News
Tourism numbers in the Whitsundays plunge 33% in just 2 years

14 September 2009 - ABC News
Tourism Whitsundays says there could be a drop in visitor numbers to north Queensland if interest rates rise.


11 September 2009 - ABC News
Tourist numbers through the Whitsundays Tourist Information Centre in north Queensland have increased by 30 per cent.

10th September 2009 - Whitsunday Times
AFTER a slow start to the year, tourist numbers are increasing according to Tourism Whitsundays.

Chief Executive Officer for Whitsunday Tourism Peter O'Reilly talks about the industry position at the moment.

25 August 2009 - Whitsundays News
Tourism Whitsundays Financial Controller, Susan Riley, was sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to stealing $354,724.83 from her employer between January and September 2008, and will be eligible for parole in August, 2011.

5 August 2009 - Whitsundays News
Why did our Tourism organizations let Ben 'take the fall' for a lack of postings when it was Telstra's poor coverage "halfway up the Queensland coast and back"? Maybe because one of Tourism Whitsundays directors, John Nayler, is in a marketing agreement with Telstra.

2 August 2009 - Whitsundays News
In the past week, Director and Chairperson of Tourism Whitsundays, Lyn Greggson,  has claimed that the Telstra phone and internet  services around the Whitsundays are poor and are the reason that the 'World's Best Job' winner was only sending blogs once every 3 days.

31 July 2009 - Whitsundays News
Tourism Whitsundays blames Telstra and and its poor coverage 'halfway up the Queensland Coast and back' for lack of "World's Best Job" Blogs.

23 July 2009 - ABC News
"Yes, places like the Maldives have an incredibly good name and I guess an exotic type of aura about them, but as each year goes past, the Whitsundays is being positioned closer and closer to that pinnacle of island holiday destinations" Mr Peter O'Reilly said.

4 July 2009 - Daily Mercury
Tourism Whitsundays chief executive officer Peter O'Reilly said at the moment there were some great offers for Mackay residents

2 July 2009 - Whitsunday Times
Tourism Whitsundays has lodged a funding request to establish a dive wreck site in the region.

29 June 2009 - Daily Mercury
Tourism Whitsundays lodging a funding request to establish a dive wreck site in the region.

25 June 2009 - Hospitality Magazine
Mark Bell, Manager Airlie Beach Hotel said "Airlie Beach’s economy survives primarily on tourism and as a result of a downturn in the economy, the town had to work harder for that tourism dollar."

18 June 2009 - Whitsunday Times
TOURISM operators are preparing to be recognised for their achievements again at this year's Whitsunday Tourism Awards.

28 May 2009 - ABC News
"When you have a good 1,500 people arrive at once, there's quite a lot of preparation that goes into that and obviously it's a great shame that all that work goes to waste," Peter O'Reilly said.

11 May 2009 - Whitsundays News
Kenyan bitter over "Best Job in the World".

8 May 2009 - Whitsundays News
Fake Video application by Tourism group for World's Best Job

8 May 2009 - Courier Mail
TOURISM Queensland's "best job in the world" campaign has won the advertising world's equivalent of an Oscar.

27 April 2009 - ABC North Queensland
Peter O'Reilly said "It's incredibly important to us, we get about three-quarters of a million visitors through here in a year, so we think that its a very important part of driving that visitation."

25 April 2009 - Whitsundays News
"Tourism Queensland says the global response to the (WBJ) promotion has generated around $100 million worth of publicity".

1 April 2009 - ABC News
Tourism Whitsunday chief executive Peter O'Reilly says there has been an influx of inquiries from across Australia.

3 April 2009 - ABC News
Chief executive officer Peter O'Reilly says the campaign's small build-up announcements are keeping the region in the public eye.

26 March 2009 - Daily Mercury
TOURISM Whitsundays has released the latest domestic visitor numbers showing six per cent growth for the region.

9 March 2009 - Whitsundays News
If the membership of our local RTO (Regional Tourism Organisation) today represented around 30% of the businesses in the region, (as it was at the beginning of the decade), then Tourism Whitsundays would be collecting over $500,000 more annually in revenue from subscriptions than it is currently.

5 March 2009 - Whitsunday Times
Peter O'Reilly said the tourism industry had suffered greatly after years of uncertainty.

4 March 2009 - Whitsundays News
Opposition Leader writes to Whitsundays News about election promise for extra money for Tourism Whitsundays.

26 February 2009 - Whitsunday Times
Chief executive Officer of Tourism Whitsundays, Peter O'Reilly, said he was extremely disappointed that the process had taken 18 months and that in the meantime, other bidders had dropped out.

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