The "Whitsunday Treasure" campaign is the fourth major tourism marketing initiative by persons either employed or on the board of Tourism Whitsundays, to collapse in as many months.
The "Whitsunday Treasure" campaign was titled as: ‘Win the best address in the World’, and was to "best exploit the proven reliability of a loyalty campaign in tandem with innovative marketing and communications opportunities", and giving customers "the chance to win a $500,000 fully furnished luxury apartment package".
The project was a good idea, however the 'finger has been pointed' at Cyclone Ului as the main reason for its demise.
Maybe "the forest can not be seen because of the 'fallen' trees" - could the lack of support for the Whitsunday Treasure campaign be also the same reason for the small membership in Tourism Whitsundays?
The organizers of the Whitsunday Treasure project were:
Christie Leet - member, Tourism Whitsundays
Lyn Gregson - ex Chaiperson, Tourism Whitsundays
Mark Bell - ex Director, Tourism Whitsundays
John Nayler - Director, Tourism Whitsundays
Jackie Maxwell -investor & experienced fundraiser
Kelli Medford - Director, Tourism Whitsundays
Jo Sweeney - member, Tourism Whitsundays
Tracey Oates
The Chairman of Tourism Whitsundays said last year that there would be some 'cleaning out' within his organization, which gave some people hope, however this has not happened - from the 'outside', it seems to be 'more of the same'.
Maybe Mr Jacobs, and the community now see a pattern of recurring names and failed campaigns. A radical 'sweep out' within Tourism Whitsundays may see a radical change in membership numbers, support and a positive direction for this regions prosperity.
Footnote: People searching the internet for travel information about Airlie Beach hit a new all time low around 20 April.
Sources:
Article from Whitsunday Times
Whitsunday Treasure prospectus
Whitsundays Internet Tourism Trends
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