A Message from the CEO

A BIG welcome to all our GAPDL members, whether you have renewed your membership or are a new member, we’re pleased to have you on board!

This past financial year (2017/18) GAPDL, in conjunction with our partners, have delivered an extraordinary range of destination marketing initiatives that resulted in record breaking visitation and overnight expenditure for the Gladstone Region and Southern Great Barrier Reef. Some of the notable highlights included;

• Creation of new destination marketing collateral including Gladstone Region Visitor Guide, Fishing Guide and local maps.
• Development of a new destination website (www.gladstoneregion.info) and the integration of a new booking system (Bookeasy).
• Showcasing the Gladstone Region and Southern Great Barrier Reef at the Caravan & Camping Expo’s and Travel Expo’s in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney – 222,425 event attendees.
• Welcoming 14 cruise ships to the Gladstone Region, with over 35,000 passengers and crew stepping ashore to date.
• Delivering a Premium Destination Partnership with TripAdvisor resulting in over 400,000 campaign impressions.
• Delivering the Gladstone Region Hero Experiences Campaign and Drive Campaign which included the creation of key content pieces, as well as hosting high profile media and influencer famils.

This year, GAPDL’s core business will include the continued operation of our Visitor Information Centres, partnering in the delivery of key destination marketing initiatives and providing business development opportunities for our members. We will also undertake a local awareness campaign, develop additional destination collateral and grow our online presence. Further to this, GAPDL will undertake a content creation project which will highlight the remarkable experiences throughout our region.

We look forward to another incredible year of growth of the Gladstone Region and our members!

P.S. Stay tuned for our official marketing calendar and other corporate resources which will be published in August’s Industry Newsletter.

Kind Regards,

Darryl Branthwaite