Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to flock to the Bundaberg Region in 2024 for sporting events and Bundaberg Tourism has teamed up with Bundaberg Regional Council to help the local industry take advantage of the millions of dollars this will inject into the local economy.
The joint initiative will see the region’s first centralised sporting events calendar shared with industry to ensure the regional businesses community is aware of key events and carnivals planned for the year.
As well as a live, publicly available calendar, businesses can access a variety of marketing materials to use across their social media and websites to help promote the destination and encourage people to extend their trip to experience the region’s exciting tourism experiences.
Bundaberg Tourism CEO Katherine Reid said sporting events were a major contributor to the tourism economy in Bundaberg as they bring competitors and their entourages into our region who spend money throughout their stay across accommodation, restaurants, cafes and takeaways, petrol stations, grocery stores and retail outlets, as well as our tourism attractions.
“Each event varies widely from the next. With Queensland school carnivals, we generally welcome family groups who often extend their stay and keep the siblings entertained at our attractions,” she said.
“Events like triathlons and high-level cycling carnivals typically bring athletes and their entourages with a higher household income and the more difficult logistics of travelling with sporting equipment like high-end road bikes mean visitors are keen to make the most of their travel with an extended stay and a trip to the reef and our cellar doors.
“Additionally, sporting events raise awareness of our region as an exciting holiday destination, with guests who have had a positive experience in the region returning in the future and promoting the region to their networks.”
Bundaberg Regional Council Sports and Recreation portfolio spokesperson Cr Vince Habermann said Council had recognised the importance of sports events to the community, evidenced through its support of major events and critical infrastructure.
“Council is proud to help bring major sporting events to the region, which in recent years included a wide variety from the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs home games for NRL premiership points and the Bullets v Taipans NBL pre-season game to various state and school championships,” Cr Habermann said.
“We’ve also invested in critical infrastructure with the new aquatic centre set to add another high quality sporting facility to the Multiplex precinct.
“Not only does this provide great sporting outcomes for our up and coming stars and passionate fans but we know these types of events bring great economic benefits to the region.
“A great example of this is the eighth annual Bundy Cup which in 2023 attracted over 900 participants and their entourage, totalling 3538 visitor nights and injecting over $700,000 of new money directly into our regional economy.
“The impact of the Queensland schools rowing championships being hosted in the region over the last two years was also incredibly significant, running over three days at the start of the school holidays.”
Councillor Steve Cooper, who is Bundaberg Regional Council’s representative on the Bundaberg Tourism board, said he had no doubt industry would welcome the availability of the sporting events calendar.
“We’re thrilled to be working more closely with Bundaberg Tourism to further maximise the economic impacts of these initiatives.
“This latest collaboration is another great example of how Bundaberg Tourism is supporting local industry to offer an unforgettable visitor experience in the beautiful Bundaberg Region.”
All of these events are made possible thanks to collaboration across our sporting and business community, Bundaberg Regional Council and our tourism industry.
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