Marketing falls short

QUEEN Mary Falls Caravan Park owner Louise Reed is calling for national advertising to draw more people to the area.

Queen Mary Falls Caravan Park owner Louise Reed said business had been steady but there was potential to encourage more tourists through marketing. Picture: Erin Smith

QUEEN Mary Falls is a popular tourist destination for many visiting the Southern Downs region but Queen Mary Falls Caravan Park owner Louise Reed is calling for national advertising to draw more people to the area.

"I would like to see the area included in more advertising," she said.

"Any advertising we have to pay for ourselves.

"It should be national though, not just local."

Mrs Reed said she was unsure about the plans to amalgamate the Warwick and Stanthorpe tourism bodies.

"I don't really know enough about it to make a judgement on how effective it will be," she said.

She said the majority of her customers were travellers.

"We get people from Victoria and South Australia," she said.

"Most of them say they heard about the park through word of mouth."

Mrs Reed said the local tourism focus was on what the regional centres had to offer.

"I think a lot of the tourism seems to centre around Warwick and Stanthorpe," she said.

"Not the side trips people can make.

"We need to be encouraging people to stay longer than a day.

"People could stay for a couple of days and never get bored. There is so much to do here."

Mrs Reed said tourism was important for the community.

"Tourism is the backbone of this area.

"I know a lot of the locals don't like having the tourists around but it is good for economic growth."

Originally published as Marketing falls short