Friday, January 24, 2025

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

Visitor Numbers Surge At Bowen Information Centre

The team at the Bowen Visitor Information Centre welcomed more than 32,000 visitors in the six months ending December 31, an increase of more than 8 per cent from the same period last year.  

Manager of Bowen Tourism and Business, Leanne Abernethy said the team had welcomed more visitors in every month so far in this financial year than for the same months last year. January has also started off well with 3088 visitors being welcomed in the first two weeks of January.

“That’s a big increase on the same period last year, when we had 2687 visitors,” she said.

“We were closed on New Year’s Day so the number of visitors in the first two weeks of the year equated to more than 235 visitors per day.”

Of the visitors so far in January, almost 60 per cent were from Queensland, about 25 per cent were from other parts of Australia and about 15 per cent were from overseas. The highest number of overseas visitors were from Europe, followed by the USA and Canada.

“We have definitely noticed an increase in the number of day-trippers, particularly from people staying at Airlie Beach,” she said.

“Bowen’s beautiful beaches, lookouts, murals and bushwalks are a great attraction and people are enjoying the natural beauty of our town.”

The Visitor Information Centre is located right next to the Big Mango, a major attraction. It is manned by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers who love telling people all about Bowen and the greater Whitsundays region.

Bowen Tourism and Business volunteer, Steve (Fish) Fisher with the Steel family of Sydney, telling them all about the attractions in Bowen and the greater Whitsundays last week.

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