Tourism Whitsunday is to head a project that will see a single website, then cut and paste for 7 others, of around $420,000, for a project that already exists in many other forms, eg Queensland Online, Queensland Armchair Guide, Wotif, even Tourism Queensland.
Sigrid Brown from the ABC reported today:
"Tourism Queensland has allocated more than $420,000 to eight regional tourism organisations from coastal and southern Queensland to create the site. Tourism Whitsundays will be heading the project."
"[The website will] make it much more user-friendly and easily accessible - the information that you need to travel around Queensland." (full story)
As that means this will be one single project, and that the value of the single project is worth $420,000, I expect National, and even International companies will tender for the project.
So, why should the other Regional Tourism Organisations be concerned? Well, Tourism Whitsundays has some unusual ideas about marketing. Two years ago, when two UK divers were left out at the reef: "Tourism Whitsundays chief executive Peter O'Reilly said the spectacular headlines, particularly in UK newspapers, could reaffirm Australia as the place for adventure tourism, which was a huge drawcard for the European market."
Tourism numbers to the Whitsundays since that extraordinary statement have plummeted over one third.
There have been many, many other issues concerning TW's ability to market and present itself, on the web, and in the media (see related articles below), that should raise concerns with the other RTO's. There are a number of stories of alleged 'bullying' by the established 'crowd' to new members of TW who's business competes with a existing director or member of TW.
We also have concerns about the amount of work that has been 'reimbursed' to businesses associated with the directors of Tourism Whitsundays. A good example was the highly spectacular failure of the Airle Beach Apartment Giveaway promotion, almost exclusively run by TW directors and their businesses.
Even calls by Tourism Whitsunday Chairman, Chris Jacobs, for the community to unite behind him have been exposed as contradictory due to his own company's (Cruise Whitsunday) tense relations with Fantasea Cruises.
So, why should the other Regional Tourism Organisations be concerned? Well, Tourism Whitsundays has some unusual ideas about marketing. Two years ago, when two UK divers were left out at the reef: "Tourism Whitsundays chief executive Peter O'Reilly said the spectacular headlines, particularly in UK newspapers, could reaffirm Australia as the place for adventure tourism, which was a huge drawcard for the European market."
Tourism numbers to the Whitsundays since that extraordinary statement have plummeted over one third.
There have been many, many other issues concerning TW's ability to market and present itself, on the web, and in the media (see related articles below), that should raise concerns with the other RTO's. There are a number of stories of alleged 'bullying' by the established 'crowd' to new members of TW who's business competes with a existing director or member of TW.
We also have concerns about the amount of work that has been 'reimbursed' to businesses associated with the directors of Tourism Whitsundays. A good example was the highly spectacular failure of the Airle Beach Apartment Giveaway promotion, almost exclusively run by TW directors and their businesses.
Even calls by Tourism Whitsunday Chairman, Chris Jacobs, for the community to unite behind him have been exposed as contradictory due to his own company's (Cruise Whitsunday) tense relations with Fantasea Cruises.
The last thing a project of this magnitude will need is to have some inexperienced or unsuccessful internet consultant running it. All directors of Tourism Whitsundays and their companies should be excluded from the tender process so as there are no conflicts of interest and the whole process is transparent. This money is coming from Queensland taxpayers.
I expect tender papers will be available from Tourism Whitsundays office. The CEO is Mr Peter O'Reilly, and Destination Manager is Mr Marc Turner.
Phone 1300 717 407. Disclaimer. I maintain QueenslandOnline.Net.
Coastal Queensland . . . . your future is in these hands:
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