This is a collation of great stories and feedback from throughout the QLD VIC network. These stories and feedback go part of the way to showing how valuable the centres are to visitors in Queensland.
The Tourism Group encompassing Visit Queensland continues to work with Visitor Information Centres to maximise the important role of volunteers and staff which make up the industry. Staff & volunteers play a crucial role in the visitor servicing industry by providing real insight and advice into the various businesses and the region they represent. This program aims to not only enhance tourism visitor services for our industry but also to reward them for the efforts of promoting tourism throughout Queensland. Offerings to VIC icard holders from participating Queensland operators can be viewed here.
Foreign students provide a high value market for Queensland’s tourism industry due to students’ length of stay, their spend and their role in encouraging visiting friends and relatives (VFR) to Queensland. The International Student Tourism Passport Competition encouraged international students to travel to at least 3 different regions across Queensland and during their visits to stop at an accredited Visitor Information Centre to meet locals, discover what makes each region unique and receive a stamp from the VIC Staff to go in the running to win $1500 of flights within Queensland. Competed in January 2019, the competition aimed to strengthen relationships between stakeholders in International Education and the Tourism Industry raising awareness of their inter-related links and their combined contribution to the Queensland economy.
Perhaps the single greatest benefit provided by Visitor Information Centres over online information sources lies within the local knowledge of the VIC’s staff and volunteers. Relating that knowledge to visitors is an important part of the visitor experience but to deliver reliable, accurate, pertinent and appealing information requires communication skills. Identifying the unique selling points of a region, qualifying the interests of individual visitors and informing them of appropriate options in an interesting and motivating way is the essence of The Tourism Group’s Storytelling Workshops. The workshops equip front line staff with the skills to bring awareness to visitors of the region’s highlights.
