McKinlay Shire Council has developed and promoted a number of initiatives encouraging tourists to ‘stop, stay and spend’ in the area.
Encompassing the towns of Julia Creek, McKinlay, Nelia and Kynuna, McKinlay Shire Council is a rural and remote local government located in North West Queensland.
At the forefront of the Shire’s tourism strategy is the Recreational Vehicle (RV) Friendly Site – a free camping area situated on the banks of Julia Creek, approximately a kilometre from the town centre.
Guests can set up camp in a shaded area, enjoy a sundowner whilst observing native wildlife, and fishermen can wet a line. Free cruiser pushbikes are also available, encouraging guests to travel uptown to take in the sights and make purchases at the local shops.
The RV Friendly Site has provided numerous economic benefits to the community since its inception in 2008. Surveys collected from guests indicate a 57 percent increase in visitors staying three or four nights at the site and a 12 percent increase in visitor expenditure at local businesses in 2015 compared with 2014.
Other initiatives that McKinlay Shire Council have been involved with include: promoting local community events to raise the profile of the Shire; hosting Long Table Lunches featuring the hero local cuisines, $10 Campfire meals for guests and locals, Town Tours and developing the McKinlay Library, Visitor Centre and Museum precinct.
The Julia Creek Visitor Centre boasts the accolade of being awarded the 2015 Queensland Information Centre Association (QICA) Visitor Information Centre of the Year, an award that reflects McKinlay Shire Council’s commitment to tourism in the region.
The Centre has undergone a number of recent changes including a technology overhaul and developing an additional display however, McKinlay Shire Mayor Belinda Murphy said, “Whilst we may implement innovations and continue to grow, we will never deviate from our core promise of providing friendly, insightful and reliable face-to-face visitor service.”
A strategy adopted by the Julia Creek Visitor Information Centre in 2015 has been to refer to their visitors as “guests” and to treat them accordingly.
The Julia Creek Visitor Centre staff work peerlessly within the McKinlay Shire community to encourage tourists to stop, stay and to spend.
An initiative that they have introduced in 2015 was a Buy Local campaign, which encouraged visitors to spend a minimum of $20 in the Shire.
Their receipt formed an entry into a monthly draw to win $100 in vouchers that could be spent nearly anywhere in Australia.
Throughout 2015, there have been hundreds of entries indicating the success of the program.
