The Champ - Gordon Welham

There is every indication that the region’s tourism market is gaining traction and that, at long last, we are moving in a positive direction.  Over the last 12 months our growth in visitor numbers (11.7 per cent year-on-year) has outstripped the rest of Queensland.  Surveys are reflecting operator confidence as well as customer satisfaction.  Talk in the street that “this is the best season in five years” is wonderful to hear.

Port Douglas as a whole is receiving sound accolades, such as being recognised as the most popular cruise-ship destination on the coast.  Other tourism bodies are saying TPDD is producing more bang for its  buck, as a local tourism office, than many of the regional tourism offices.  All this hasn’t happened by pure good luck alone.

We would like to throw more weight behind all we do. The potential is there. I am far from wanting to make excuses, but I make the point that there is only so much that we can achieve with the funds available. With less than $600,000 to spend we are really running on the smell of an oily rag.  Our competition is playing hard ball, even domestically. 
 
For instance, Kangaroo Island has been given $18 million over four years for tourism related infrastructure, as well as a generous ongoing marketing budget.

The SA State Government realises that for visitors to get to Kangaroo Island they invariably have to go through Adelaide and other parts of South Australia. That represents a multiplier effect across quite a large area. Investment in tourism makes sense. Nevertheless, we in TPDD are very, very mindful that our supporting bodies, including our members, are not flush with money. We are extremely appreciative of what we receive and are committed to spending funds effectively, and to continue to be held accountable for every cent spent.

Having said that the future looks much more positive, I know this is not a generalisation. I recognise that not everyone is out of the woods. Indeed, many are far from it. There are many with business-sustaining debt, still working far too hard, having laid off staff, and are well entrenched with other catch-up tasks and expenditure.

Nor can we be certain that yet another external influence will not slam us. We have been affected by the GFC, by Icelandic volcanoes, and by Christchurch earthquakes. We hope that nothing else could possibly affect us. But, we have to stick with our strong game plan just in case something does. We can’t experiment. I am confident that we've got the fundamentals in place. There is no need to look to wide-scale change.

The strong executive team of three is supported by a board of eight and receives analysis and recommendations from four strategic panels, and from a very committed membership base.

With the oversight and guidance of this very strong team I'd like to continue and enhance what we're doing well: for example the wedding market, conferences and incentives, sporting and other events, as well as the staple leisure markets out of both our traditional markets such as domestic, UK, Europe, USA and New Zealand, as well as do what is necessary to capture the potential of emerging markets, particularly China.

I am also one for remaining fresh and agile in how we market ourselves. Even though we have long-term, strategic goals and an underpinning Marketing Strategy, in terms of market penetration, we need to continue to duck and weave, in terms of the mechanisms used and the relative expenditure on each.

I would be honoured to be part of the team that continues the current momentum. I have been at the helm of a terrific board for two years now, have just been re-elected for a second, two-year, term as the Zone Representative on the board of TTNQ, and I chair the strategic panel that aims for economies of effort across all the TNQ local tourism bodies. I would also like to think that my academic, management, and governance skills and experience hold me in good staid to do so.  

We'll bring you all of the action from the AGM next week on The Newsport.