1. DISUNITY
* According to the Chairman, Mr Chris Jacobs, Tourism Whitsundays is supposed to be an association defined as: "a group of people joined together for a purpose". However, this is not the case. Disunity within TW has been one of the major reasons for TW's membership shrinking from 2006, but this disunity has not been disclosed by TW until revealed by TW director Kellie Medford (Boathaven) last year.
* For the past year, TW CEO Mr Peter O'Reilly has been on a much publicised lobbying exercise with the airlines to increase more flights into the region. However, during this time, several directors openly and publicly "went rogue" and expressed their anger with the airlines on the front page of the Whitsunday Times.
* Disunity is endemic within TW on almost every level and within almost every trade, and this disunity even goes all the way to the top to include the Chairman's own company, Cruise Whitsundays. Allegedly, either Cruise Whitsundays or Fantasea Cruises has sent an email to its staff to not interact with anyone from the opposing company. The existence of the email has been confirmed by several people from both companies, however both companies also claim that it was the other company that initiated the emails.
Cruise Whitsundays and Fantasea Cruises are both members of TW - not exactly signs of unity.
If it is discovered that it is the Chairman's company, Cruise Whitsundays who distributed the email, then that makes a mockery of his pleas to the community to unite behind him. Sort of like 'Do as I say, not as I do'.
This spat between the two ferry companies has lead to the silly situation of people on Hamilton Island wanting to visit Daydream or Long Islands, have to go via either Shute Harbour or even Abel Point - which can now take several hours instead of 30 minutes.
2. CONFLICTING MESSAGES
* On 28 April this year, the Chairman dramatically announced through his regular TW column in the Whitsunday Times, "Comment by the Chair" that the tourism industry in the Whitsundays was in crisis. This was the very first acknowledgement by the association of the critical situation of the tourism industry in the Whitsundays.
* The inconsistent interpretation of tourism figures by the CEO of TW, Mr Peter O'Reilly continues, choosing either one year or three years of statistics to 'polish the numbers', and several times, even discrediting the official figures. There was also the recent claim that tourism figures were not accurate as they didn't include "all the one way car rentals". Most of Mr O'Reilly's press releases were picked up by the mainstream media, and those articles can be found here.
* The alleged 'turf war' between Fantasea Cruises and Cruise Whitsundays (owned by the Chairman of TW) is a direct contradiction to the Chairman's plea to work together.
3. UNCERTAIN FUTURE
* The recent pleas by the Chairman of TW seem to point to a imminent demise of TW unless it raises $100,000 in the immediate future. One wonders if this is possible, especially after TW's Destination Officer, Marc Turner said recently: "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."
* There is also the case of the internal fraud of around $350,000 that occurred almost two years ago and what effect and drain has it had and continuing to have on TW.
If TW folds, then I expect you have lost most or all of your membership money.1
4. EXCLUSIVE CLUB
Through observation, you probably wouldn't be wrong if you thought that the agenda of the majority of directors and members was to further their own personal interests only, and to also keep TW exclusive from their competitors.
Have a look at Tourism Whitsundays' membership: by category or alphabetical. You will see that in almost every trade and service (except accommodation and marine), that there is only one business representing that trade or service. Most obvious is the lack of participation in TW by many Real Estate agencies, Backpackers, Supermarkets and Retailers.
5. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The same Directors who steered TW to it's current 'crisis point' are still in office - there has been no change.
6. MANAGEMENT
The same Management who advised and followed the Board into our current crisis are still there - there has been no change.
7. LACK OF TRANSPARENCY AND DISCLOSURE
* Quite a few people received a shock when the Chairman announced a few months ago admitting that tourism in the Whitsundays was at crisis point. As recently as a month and a half earlier, the public were being told that tourism in the Whitsundays was "bucking the trend".
* Recently we were to be impressed with TW's proof of "social media prowess" by the number of its friends on its Facebook page. However, TW fails to disclose that their progress on Twitter has been dismal.
* I mentioned earlier that TW CEO Mr Peter O'Reilly has been on a much publicised lobbying exercise with the airlines and at the same time, several directors of TW expressed their anger with the airlines in the local paper . . . . however, in the article, you will note that while all the people interviewed were directors of TW, it was never disclosed that they were.
8. MARKETING
* Tourism in the Whitsundays is at an almost all-time low, however the Board and Management of TW continue to say that the past marketing exercises have all been successful. The focus of marketing still appears to be to win awards, rather than win visitors and tourists.
* The 'Best Job in the World' campaign only worked for Hamilton Island. The campaign could also have possibly drawn away visitors intending to go to Airlie Beach or the other islands.
* It appears that the same Advertising company (now under a different name) continues to been in charge of the marketing and advertising of the Whitsundays, since 2006.
* Recent highly publicised marketing exercises by TW and its directors have spectacularly collapsed - the most noteworthy being the "Whitsunday Treasure - $500,000 Apartment Giveaway". The "Whitsunday Treasure" campaign was the fourth major tourism marketing initiative by persons either employed or on the board of Tourism Whitsundays, to collapse in as many months. It is not known how much was spent on this major campaign, or how much went to TW Directors and/or their businesses for "services rendered".
9. LOBBYING
TW has failed in at least two major long term lobbying exercises this year -
* to increase flights, and
* a dive wreck trail.
As the Management and Board of TW has not changed, then I do not see that TW's lobbying for and on behalf of this region will improve.
10. ASSOCIATION
* TW members represent less than 10% of all the businesses in the Whitsundays region. The ACCC took action against several businesses in the Whitsundays in the past year - all are TW members.
* The observation that some of the Directors of TW feel as if they can do and say almost anything they want, almost to the point of deception, to further their own personal interests, without thinking about the consequences for the greater Whitsundays community, businesses, services and individuals.
1. Reference: Department of Fair Trading
Associations Incorporation Act PDF 3MB (review)
Currently: The Act does not stop associations trading when they are insolvent (that is, unable to pay their debts when they fall due). The Corporations Act specifies that directors who knowingly continue to trade when their company is insolvent may face personal liability for debts, orders to compensate and civil and criminal penalties. This protects traders and suppliers who deal with companies in the legitimate belief that they will be paid for their goods and services.
Footnote: I would like to point out that Mr Chris Jacobs, took on the extremely challenging, and I think 'toxic' Chairman position of Tourism Whitsundays at a very critical, probably irreparable time of TW's life. While I think continuing with TW in it's current form is like 'beating a dead horse', I have respect for him trying to do what looks like 'Mission Impossible'.
Sources:
QLD Dept. of Fair Trading
Mackay Daily Mercury
Whitsunday Times
Whitsundays News
ABC News
B & T Magazine
Mumbrella
Dynamic Business
Advance Whitsundays
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