Spring is blessing the Whitsunday region with glorious weather and has certainly made a huge difference to trade and confidence in the main street. Last week’s walk the street with Mayor Willcox and TW CEO Tash Wheeler Was the polar opposite of our last visit with the mood amongst main street traders upbeat, confident and happy. There may be a short lull, but there’s lots more to come with Run the Great Whitsunday Trail, School holidays, Chinese Golden Week and the Airlie Beach Music Festival just around the corner.
Clearly the stream of constant events is a winning formula and shows that when there are things to do, visitors flock to the region. During our quarterly meeting with the Mayor and CEO Kenn Donoghue the chamber stressed the need for all organisations to work together to attract and develop significant permanent attractions. There are several in the pipeline and the business community needs to ensure it shows its full support for these projects.
We are in the process of collating and will shortly be releasing the results of our Airlie Main Street survey. Initially intended just for Chamber members and Main Street Traders, we have decided to release it to all residents. If you would like to have a say, do so by September 13 at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ChamberMainSt The survey will form the basis of a strategy by the Chamber and Main Street Traders to improve the visitor experience and to help make Airlie Beach a destination in its own right within the Whitsunday region.
In another important event this week Tourism Whitsundays, in partnership with Whitsunday Regional Council, is launching the new Whitsundays Destination brand at Northerlies on Thursday.This new brand, developed in conjunction with Destination Think, will form the foundation of the region’s marketing for the next cycle and will be a significant contributor to how the World perceives the Whitsundays.
Following a welcome from our Mayor, the new brand will be unveiled and Tourism and Events Queensland’s Executive Director of Marketing, Michael Branagh, will share some insights on bringing the brand together with brand Queensland.
The Chamber’s committee was voted in at the AGM on August 22 with the new committee is as follows:Allan Milostic (President), Judy Porter (Vice President), Deborah Friend (Secretary), Tanya Bartram (Treasurer), and committee members Andrew Telford, Scott Reid, Matt Stokes, Jeff Aquilina, Terry Lawn and Megan Taylor.This was followed by a hugely entertaining and informative presentation on various forms of digital marketing with Tolita Dukes (8seconds), Sharon Smallwood (Freelance Media), Chris Bonanno (GM Star FM Radio) and Georgia Simpson (Whitsunday Times Digital Produce) sharing their knowledge and expertise in an open panel discussion.Entry to these events is included in the Chamber membership and I strongly encourage all members to make time to attend and take advantage of access to experts like this in an informal setting. You will certainly get something out of it.
Please feel free to contact any committee member with questions and suggestions – their details are on our website – www.whitsundaycoastchamber.com.auAnd it’s not too late to join up for this year – we run to the financial year, so you will still have 10 months to enjoy all the benefits – www.whitsundaycoastchamber.com.au/join Until next timeAllan MilosticPresident, Whitsunday Coast Chamber of Commerce
Whitsundays Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Chamber Chat – Thursday, September 19, 2019