Jenny McKay spoke to the Hinterland Times about the future direction of tourism in general and specifically about pathways and walking tracks in a region that is still dangerously dominated by the motor car.
Tourism operators on the Sunshine Coast hinterland increasingly voice their concerns over lack of financial and marketing support for a region that is growing in importance as a recreational destination.
Elsewhere in this edition of the Hinterland Times we hear from the Blackall Range Business and Tourism Association and its wish for a slice of the tourism marketing dollar. Hinterland councillor Jenny McKay is also eager to see the hinterland better represented on tourism marketing bodies.
“We have told the various tourism bodies on the Sunshine Coast that they must come back to tell us what they want. Personally, I believe strongly that we need one tourism body, and I am not saying it should be Sunshine Coast Tourism. But we can’t go on having all these small tourism organisations. What is important though is that the board of any new body should have the hinterland equally represented on it alongside the Coast, because we need each other.
So the tourism boards have been sent away to come back with a model that they think is sustainable, in which each sector is represented equitably around the table, and how they would like support from local government.
I will support those people who know what is best for hinterland tourism because I believe we need a partnership, or at least a seat around the big board table”.
One of the sensitive areas in the past has been the issue of tourism levies. Councillor McKay says in the past, a tourism levy was not popular in the Maroochy Shire.
“I think we need a public debate on this because in Maroochy Shire people were very vocal about not having a levy. But I think we might well come up with a model that supports levies because it has worked well in the northern and southern parts of the Coast”.
A concern associated with tourism is the quality of our paths and walking tracks. Last week for example, Mapleton parents expressed their concern to this magazine about the danger to their children from having to walk to school along narrow road edges without any protection.
“I totally understand the concern of these parents and I support more walkways. But take the proposed Mapleton to Montville walkway, it was costed at more than $3m with parts of it having to be suspended as a boardwalk off the side of the roadway on the hillside. This is very expensive. Unfortunately, some pathways already built on the hinterland are under utilised. So, it’s a matter of priorities but also of cost.
I hear very clearly from the people from Montville to Mapleton that this is a high priority and it’s very much in my thoughts. We will obviously get some state government input but it’s still going to take a lot of ratepayers money to bring such walkways to fruition. The point is that all these requests are very valid, but we are constantly asking ourselves as a Council, where is the money going to come from?
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