20 May 2013
There's always plenty happening here in the Whitsundays and the team at Whitsundays Marketing and Development are always happy to help develop your story ideas, or help with new ideas. We update our top ten list of story ideas bi-monthly - here are our latest ideas to get the creative juices flowing....
WHAT'S NEW
1. PARADISE BAY ISLAND RESORT RE-LAUNCH
Having been closed for 12 months, new owners have purchased the property and given the resort some serious TLC. Re-opening to guests this month, the resort boasts a new day spa and new swimming pool, as well as beautifully refurbished beach bungalow accommodation.
Paradise Bay is a unique resort offering a blend of eco and luxury, set in a brilliant contrast of sun-soaked beaches, crystal clear water and magical untouched wilderness. With a maximum of just 18 guests at any one time and no children, day visitors, mobile phones or internet, this is the ultimate, romantic, exclusive island getaway. Arrive by helicopter, feast on gourmet meals with superb wines to match, enjoy lazy days around the infinity edge pool or exploring the Whitsundays on the Resort's private catamaran or fast rib boat with the private skipper. Paradise Bay is an ideal destination for people wanting a dream island holiday, honeymoon, romantic getaway, adventure holiday, idyllic island wedding, corporate retreat, Whitsunday Island adventure, eco-friendly escape, or luxury retreat. The unique location of 'Paradise' offers a beautiful setting which exudes romance, peace, quiet and tranquillity. www.paradisebay.com.au
2.NEW WHITEHAVEN BEACH FULL DAY TOUR
A new full day cruise to Whitehaven Beach was launched by Cruise Whitsundays in April, offering a new option for travellers who want to experience both the Southern and Northern ends of the beach.Guests are now able to indulge in six full hours at Whitehaven, experiencing the natural beauty of Whitehaven Beach; from the northern end exploring spectacular Hill Inlet, to the southern end, swimming and sunbathing. Up until now there were no other tours offering guests the chance to experience the full length of the beach in one trip.
The new tour offers guests a leisurely cruise along the full 7km length of Whitehaven Beach and across Hill Inlet to a landing point where a guided walk follows the path and history of the Whitsunday traditional owners, the Ngaro people, and leads exploring guests to the spectacular lookout.When sea conditions permit, the tour is extended to include nearby Esk Island whereguests can snorkel the pristine coral gardens. A convenient picnic lunch pack and afternoon tea is included. The pristine white silica sand of Whitehaven stretches for over seven kilometres along deserted Whitsunday Island, the largest of the 74 islands in the Whitsunday Islands National Park.
3.NEW EVENTS AND CONFERENCE FACILITY BEING BUILT AT BIG4 ADVENTURE WHITSUNDAY
BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort will soon have a brand new multi-purpose conference and meeting venue after receiving a grant through the Tourism Industry Regional Development Fund (TIRF). The recent approval of a $250,000 grant will enable the award-winning resort to enhance their current accommodation and meeting room and build a new facility with multiple spaces for functions, kids' activities, guest programs and conferences catering for 30 to 100 guests.Coming on top of winning the Queensland and Australian Tourism Awards for best "Tourist and Caravan Park" the McKinnon family is thrilled to be given this opportunity to develop their facility and improve the Airlie Beach accommodation options and contribute to the overall growth of the tourism industry in the Whitsunday region.BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday currently caters for families, school groups and relaxed business meetings and the new facility, which is to be completed by December 2013, will improve the offering and increase capacity.
www.adventurewhitsunday.com.au.
4.DOG FRIENDLY WHITSUNDAYS HOLIDAYS
With more and more families wanting to travel with their pets, an innovative Whitsundays resident has compiled the ultimate tool for planning a holiday in the Whitsundays with dogs. www.dogfriendlywhitsundays.com.au is the first website of it's kind in the region that combines dog friendly accommodation listings with tips on dog friendly beaches and restaurants, local vets, local health care tips and other dog services - including dog sitters for while the rest of the family enjoys tours to the Great Barrier Reef and around the Whitsundays.
5.LAUNCH OF REGATTA WATERS
Visitors who fall in love with the Whitsundays on their holiday can now buy into the region's newest and largest community development. Regatta Waters Whitsundays will be a living community boasting a lifestyle second to none. The 283 hectare master planned community will have the amenities and facilities you'd expect from a quality golf course estate, as well as islands, creeks, lakes, and groves to enhance its tropical character. Developer Latitude Development Group has started work on the 2500-dwelling Regatta Waters Whitsundays which will be rolled out over the next 15 years and will include a golf course, village precinct and extensive recreational facilities. The project is fully funded so its progress will not be tied to pre-sales. It will be sold as traditional lots, house and land packages, villas, townhouses and units.
STORY ANGLES
6. ICONS VS. HIDDEN GEMS
Sure, everyone wants to travel somewhere to see it's iconic features. But we also have an explorer gene that makes us want to feel as though we're the first to discover a hidden gem. Either way, if you're travelling to the Whitsundays you can see a good mix of both:
ICON: Island-hop throughout Australia's largest chain of offshore islands, the 74 Whitsunday islands, some of which are inhabited with some of the world's most famous holiday resorts.
OR...
HIDDEN GEM: Shop-hop throughout Proserpine, just 15 minutes inland from Airlie Beach, and home to fabulous boutique shops and guaranteed country hospitality.
ICON: Sink your toes into the glistening white silica sand of world famous Whitehaven Beach, a 7km long stretch of sparkling white sandy beach with azure blue waters.
OR...
HIDDEN GEM: Sink your teeth into a huge array of fresh local produce. Who knew the Whitsundays produces most of Australia's tomatoes? Not to mention delicious Bowen mangoes and fresh, tasty local Barramundi!
ICON: Enjoy the romance of seeing the heart of the Great Barrier Reef, 'Heart Reef', a natural formation of coral in the shape of a heart.
OR...
HIDDEN GEM: Enjoy the far less crowded but equally beautiful beaches of Bowen, a natural formation of seven beaches along the northern coastline of the Whitsundays.
ICON: Chart your own course and skipper yourself on a sailing holiday through some of the world's most beautiful and protected sailing grounds throughout the Whitsunday islands and Coral Sea.
OR...
HIDDEN GEM: Chart your own course and drive yourself inland to see the landscapes change to rugged mountain ranges, north to beautiful beaches and southwest to rich rainforest, all without too many other travellers to share it with.
TID BITS
7.Free wifi on Hamilton Island
Hamilton Island is now offering free Wi-Fi access to guests staying on the popular Whitsundays Island. One of the first major Australian tourist destinations to offer complimentary Wi-Fi, guests staying at the Reef View Hotel and Palm Bungalows will now receive a complimentary 400MB broadband package upon arrival, which can be used both In Room and around the Island including in the Reef View Foyer and Lounge Bar, at the Tour Desk/Outrigger Centre, Island Bar (Main Pool), Kegal Bowling, Hamilton Island Yacht Club and the Airport Lounge and Baggage Area.
8.Airlie Beach town centre upgrade nearing completion
The $20 million upgrade of the Airlie Beach town centre is now starting to take shape and visitors to the region can start to see what the finished product will look like. Underground works are almost complete and the above ground beautification works are moving along very quickly. Visitors to Airlie Beach in the past have known the town as a backpacker haven, however in recent years four and five star apartment developments and a rising number of quality restaurants have seen the town grow up significantly. The major Port of Airlie development at the eastern end of town offers brand new apartments and a restaurant and shopping precinct. The upgrade to the town centre will reinvigorate the town which is the major hub of the Whitsundays region.
WMDL will be hosting an intensive familiarisation program to Airlie Beach from September 2013 for writers to experience the re-launch of the town. To register your interest in visiting Airlie Beach to see the upgrade, please contact Danielle Krista.
WHAT'S ON
9.JUNIOR MASTERCHEF TWINS HOST KIDS IN THE KITCHEN WORKSHOPS FOR JUNE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
Junior celebrity chefs Isabella and Sofia Bliss will host a week of "Kids in the Kitchen" cooking workshops at BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort for the June School Holidays. The twin sisters are remembered for their winning combination in the first episode of Junior MasterChef and for inspiring a national audience of juniors to pick up a spatula and start cooking.The Kids in the Kitchen workshops will be free for all house guests.
BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort has the ideal location for this activity with an open-air camp kitchen located amidst beautiful landscaped tropical gardens. Classes will be held twice daily over five separate days throughout the holiday period with plenty of interaction from the enthusiastic audience and great tips from the popular junior cooking duo. BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort will be supplying all the ingredients and cooking utensils so kids and parents can just turn up and enjoy the event.
With masses of facilities including a lagoon-style swimming pool, water slides, outdoor cinema, giant jumping pillow, pedal karts, full-size tennis court, mini-golf, adventure playground, basketball, volleyball, badminton, bocce and table tennis there is plenty to do for every age and visitor. The award winning resort offers a wide choice of accommodation options and provides easy access to the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef, a vast array of trips, activities and truly memorable Australian holiday adventures.
www.adventurewhitsunday.com.au
10.FLYING BOAT MEMORIAL
The Catalina Flying Boat "A24-24" of 20 Squadron RAAF, took off from Bowen at 1545 hrs on 17 August 1943 on an air to sea gunnery training exercise flight. At the conclusion of firing practice, the aircraft was making a run across the wave tops over a choppy sea and it is assumed that the port wing hit the water and the aircraft crashed into the sea and sank approximately 5 miles east of Bowen. 2 crew members survived, 6 died, and 8 others were never found. The wreck itself was never found until the 1960s when fishing trawlers dredged up parts of an aircraft that were unmistakably from a Catalina. But it wasn't until 2011 that local divers discovered the exact crash site and rear fuselage and tail largely intact. Now, some 70 years later, Tourism Bowen together with the Bowen RSL are planning an event to formally commemorate the crash and create a memorial for the first time.Shane Porteous, best known for playing Dr Terence Elliott in the television drama series A Country Practice, is the son of the late Stanley John Porteous - one of the 14 men that died in the 1943 Catalina crash. Shane will be attending the memorial in honor of his father.
www.bowencatalinamemorial.com.au
YOU'RE INVITED! END OF FY YEAR MEDIA FUNCTIONS:
Brisbane travel media are invited to drinks hosted by the Whitsundays on Thursday, 6 June. Please contact Danielle for details.
The Whitsundays will be hosting the ASTW Sydney luncheon on Thursday, 20 June. Please watch out for the invitation coming soon!
Melbourne travel media are invited to drinks hosted by the Whitsundays on Thursday, 27 June. Please contact Danielle for details.
YOU'RE INVITED! UPCOMING MEDIA FAMIL OPPORTUNITIES:
The Whitsundays is hosting the following media famils in the next couple of months. If you write for a relevant publication, please contact us to register your interest in attending:
13 - 16 June - Eat your way around the Whitsundays - discovering the rich and fertile Whitsunday Coast and islands food trail.
July - Sail and snorkel the Whitsundays - get set for the Whitsundays upcoming sailing events, learn to sail yourself, and explore the fringing coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef.
September - Re-launch of Airlie Beach - following the completion of the $20m upgrade to Airlie Beach's town centre, all media are invited to visit the region and discover how Airlie has grown up from a backpacker town to a cosmopolitan, inviting and trendy place with everything from backpacker to 5 star accommodation, a gourmet selection of restaurants and plenty of activities you wouldn't expect in this marine based destination.
We run famils throughout the year and welcome any travel writers to make contact if interested in visiting our region.
MORE INFO
For more information or images on any of the above story ideas, or anything on the Whitsundays, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Danielle Krista (nee Seymour)
Marketing Services Manager
Ph. +61 7 4948 5904 / 0417 765 736
marketing@wmdl.com.au
