Tourism alive and well in Ipswich

As Queensland’s oldest provincial city, Ipswich has a lot to offer by way of a tourist destination according to University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Tourism Lecturer Frances Cassidy.

Ms Cassidy said the city has it all when it comes to offering Queensland holiday makers a place to visit for a weekend trip or a weeklong holiday.

'There is so much to do in Ipswich, it is steeped in history, has fabulous architecture, cultural and natural history and has over 6,000 listed heritage sights,' Ms Cassidy said.

'It is certainly worth the drive to come and see what the region has to offer.'

Ms Cassidy said tourism has the potential to become huge business in the region and already brings in big dollars in Ipswich.

'Ipswich receives approximately 11,000 international visitors each year who spend around $1,000 per person. That equates to $11million of new money brought into the local economy annually.

'But it gets better, there are about 174,000 domestic overnight visitors to Ipswich each year and they each spend about $250 each.'

'This doesn’t sound like much per person but when you look at the final figure of expenditure it comes to $43million.

'So you can see tourism is important to our Ipswich economy. It shows that our tourism industry must be well managed and sustainable for the future.'

Ms Cassidy said Ipswich should not be compared to the Gold and Sunshine Coasts for popularity as a tourist destination.

'The coastal locations are always going to be popular, there is no denying that, but Ipswich is not a coast and it not in competition with the coasts. It should be marketed and promoted on what it has to offer.'

Ms Cassidy teaches Tourism Management as part of the three year Bachelor of Business program at USQ’s Springfield campus.

'Tourism is big business whether you are selling overseas holidays or weekend stays in Ipswich, so you need to know how to run a business if you are going to be part of the tourism sector.

'Each semester we take our students on field trips to regional locations to show them that tourism extends to local areas as well as further a field.

'This semester we will be taking students to Harrisville, Normanby Wines and Araucaria Eco Tours at Rathdowney.

'The students will be using these visits as case studies for their assignments, to assess the tourism potential of the area.

'They will develop site plans for either new attractions or redevelopment to draw more tourists to the area and critically evaluate an ecotourism venture.

'Taking the students to these local tourist destinations will ultimately remind them the business of tourism starts at home.'

Media Contact:  Jo-Ann Sparrow, USQ Media, +61 7 3470 4119 or 0428 102 979