Toowoomba Region Brand
video that encapsulated people from our region
and why they are proud to live here, a brand book
and organisational style guide for use across all of
Council’s assets and publications. The new brand has
been shortlisted for a GOV Design Award for Graphic
Design – Corporate Identity and Branding to be
announced next financial year.
This financial year saw Council roll out Stage 2 of the
signage project identifying an additional 17 gateway
entrance signs installed in regional towns. Each of
the 17 towns identified what made their part of the
region unique and these identifiers were used as
the foundation for the signage installation. The 17
towns that received new welcome signage included
Bowenville, Brookstead, Cabarlah, Cooyar, Felton
East, Gowrie Junction, Greenmount, Haden, Hampton,
Jondaryan, Kulpi, Maclagan, Nobby, Peranga,
Quinalow, Southbrook and Westbrook,.
Over 50,000 unique people visit Council’s website
each month and this year saw an investment in
resources to incorporate the new brand, as well as
look at the usability and user experience for our
community. When Toowoomba is searched, the first
website to appear is Council’s and it is important
that we offer a valuable, reliable first impression to
our visitors, investors, tourists and residents. From
anecdotal evidence from users across the region, the
website has been described as vibrant, welcoming,
easy to navigate and creates a ‘sense of place’ on
arrival. Council’s website was successful in receiving
a silver award at the 2015 Melbourne Design Awards
in the category of Digital Experience, Government.
Council’s website has also been shortlisted for a Gov
Design Award in the category of Digital – Government
Services. This year also saw Council refresh the look
and feel of the internal staff intranet; showcasing
the new brand and allowing a robust internal
communication channel to grow.
This year also saw the revitalisation of Council’s
image library, allowing access to over 200
new images of our entire region, its people and
landscapes. The architecture to house these
images has also been refreshed with the ability
for a governed image storage and photography
release process. This can ensure that Council has full
permissions to utilise photos taken, share relevant
photos with the public for community use, as well
as showcase the stunning aspects of what makes
our region so unique with high resolution, saturated,
professional photography.
Tourism and events strategy 2016-2020
Council adopted the Toowoomba Regional Tourism
and Events Strategy this year, following extensive
community consultation on the future of tourism and
events in our region. This Strategy provides a clear
direction for the development of tourism through
to 2020. The Queensland goal of doubling annual
overnight visitor expenditure to $30 billion by 2020
is the key context for the Strategy. At a local level,
Toowoomba Regional Council is aiming to grow our
tourism market by $41.8 million by 2020.
This past year, the Toowoomba Region has received
approximately 867,830 domestic overnight visitors,
accounting for 1.94 million domestic overnight visitor
nights. Overnight domestic visitation has increased
by an average of 5.4 per cent per annum since 2011
and accounts for approximately 86 per cent of all
overnight expenditure. While domestic day-trip visitors
have decreased by approximately 2.6 per cent per
annum since 2011, they remain the Toowoomba
Region’s key market segment, accounting for
approximately 63 per cent of all visitors.
Looking forward, the development of the new
Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba, the
growing regional population and the growth of visitors
into South East Queensland represent untapped
opportunity. The strategy identifies two parts; firstly,
the actions required to retain market share of
existing segments and leveraging these changes
and, secondly, the potential to stretch beyond with
additional investment in a number of growth
market segments.
The current markets and areas for growth include the
200-kilometre drive market, destinations with direct air
services and the business and leisure events markets.
With additional investment, markets for growth include
visiting friends and relatives, attending or participating
in sporting events, outdoor adventure enthusiasts and
business and conference visitors. This opens up the
possibility of strengthening inter-state demand, as air
routes are established.
TOOWOOMBA REGIONAL COUNCIL Annual Report 2015 - 2016
Our goals CHAPTER 4
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