Tourism

Tourism 

The Gympie region is a place of natural beauty. We have stunning landscapes, breathtaking coastlines, majestic forests and abundant wildlife.

Only 2 hours north of Brisbane and 1 hour from the Sunshine Coast Airport, we are well-positioned for locals and tourists.

Our region has a booming visitor economy, with a strong domestic drive market. We are also part of Australia’s Nature Coast.

The Gympie region also has a lot to offer our visitors in the wellness, domestic education, and sporting sectors.

  • Our natural resources and wide open spaces offer investors and developers a range of benefits:

    • Stunning, low density backdrops and land availability
    • Close to major population bases and airports
    • Temperate climate, low rainfall and warm winters
    • Strong occupancy rates and forward bookings
    • Very competitive land and business costs
    • Improved road, rail and transport links
    • Skilled, stable workforce
    • Free activities to add value to accommodation offers
    • Few paid tourism experiences
    • Burgeoning cycling and mountain biking destination
    • Existing experiences with capacity for growth
    • Strong major events and festivals portfolio
    • International alumni and PHD research opportunities (Great Sandy Biosphere, Ramsar Wetlands)
    • A welcoming “open for business” council ready to convert your interest into investment.

    • Accommodation with dining and wellness options.
    • Beach and bush adventure and soft-adventure experiences where nature and wildlife are the hero.
    • Improve and grow existing iconic tourism experiences.
    • Hotel, dining and conference facilities for conferences, sporting and wedding markets.
    • First nation cultural centre, cultural experiences and events.
    • Evening and night time touring, for example – ghost tours, horse riding on the beach, dark sky and star gazing opportunities.
    • Breweries, micro-breweries, wineries.
    • Walking and cycling tours – nature, heritage, scenic (utilising existing trail networks).
    • Natural events and festivals – mountain biking, cycling, triathlon, ironman.
    • PHD and alumni tours, research facilities and accommodation.

    • Our visitor economy is worth around $116.2M each year and growing. Domestic tourism attracts more than 520,000 visitors and accounts for 90 per cent of all visits here.
    • On average, overnight visitors stay for three nights and 56 per cent of visitors are here for holiday purposes.
    • International markets account for 51,000 visitors. Growth in our overnight stays is outperforming the Queensland average with around 210,000 overnight stays.
    • International visitors stay for 3.5 nights and seventy-four per cent of all international visits are for holiday purposes.
    • We attract 759,541 day-trippers each year.

    • Travellers seek off-the-beaten-track destinations with open spaces away from crowds and over-tourism.
    • Active, healthy holidays such as hike and bike tours, particularly challenges and achievements.
    • Locally grown food and market experience.
    • Australians experiencing Australia.
    • Sustainable, conscious travel, with a focus on the environment.
    • Real stories from real locals add real value to a travellers’ experience.

    • Rainbow Beach
    • Native wildlife – platypus, dugong, punk turtle, dolphins, dingoes
    • Great Beach Drive (sand highway)
    • Historical Gympie City
    • Great Cooloola Walk
    • Carlo Sand Blow
    • Surfing and water sports
    • Coloured sands
    • Heritage steam train
    • Great Australian Rail Trails (cycling and trail network)
    • Farm trails and produce markets
    • Closest gateway to world-famous K’gari (Fraser Island)

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