TOURISM OPPORTUNITIES
Toowoomba shone as bright as ever in September. A month were the city, under the Carnival of Flowers banner showed itself off to visitors from around the nation, around the globe.
The welcoming and kind nature of our community was on show. Local gardens blossomed. City parks perfectly curated and manicured. A truly beautiful spectacle. A heartfelt congratulations to all our ambassadors for this great event – our grassroot gardeners, business operators, Toowoomba residents, and Toowoomba Regional Council just to name a few.
Throw in other events like the iconic and time-honoured Weetwood at Clifford Park, the town was a rocking!
According to the Queensland Government, tourism is a billion-dollar industry. An industry that attracts more than 27 million domestic and international overnight visitors to Queensland, yearly. An industry that directly or indirectly employs 1 in 15 Queenslanders.
How do we get more tourism dollars?
Yes, I want more money spent locally with our businesses. How do we get more tourism jobs? Yes, I want more opportunities for locals to work in tourism.
Toowoomba is bursting with tourism possibilities. Whether that be creating the Quarry Gardens, rebooting the Jondaryan Woolshed or the establishment of another event to put Toowoomba on the world stage, aka, The Autumn Feast.
But can more be done?
What tourism inventions, regardless of size can add another night stay for visitors in our accommodation houses resulting in another day to spend more money in our local economy?
Recently, I was lucky enough to be educated on the Toowoomba and Darling Downs long and special history when it comes to poets and writers (storytellers). Educated by the Toowoomba Bush Poets group of the importance of sharing local dreamtime stories and works of poets like locals George Essex Evans, Margaret Carran, and the list goes on.
Could this be an intervention, with limited capital outlay to add to the Toowoomba tourism story?
Maybe a storytellers walk, integrated into the streetscape on Railway Street and nearby parklands? Afterall, this area is fast becoming a growing creative hub, with the Toowoomba Gallery and Doolamai Designs nearby. Plus, we could kill two birds with one stone (Are you still allowed to say that?), by upgrading the Railway Street streetscape which is in desperate need of a spruce up.
Just imagine the potential new jobs and increase local spend in our businesses that would be created with more local tourism creations.
We are interested in your thoughts about potential tourism interventions and opportunities in Toowoomba – no matter how big or small. Email these to admin@toowoombachamber.com.au
