Destination 2045 Workshop – Capricorn

Tuesday 28th January, Empire Conference Room, Rockhampton Looking Forward Learning Back, Learning Back Looking Forward

The tourism industry is successful because of three things:

Product, Management, Marketing

  • Product – Accommodation, Experiences, Public and Private infrastructure
  • Management – Capacity building (Tourism Trade Mentoring, Digital, BOQ)
  • Marketing – need not just Product, but good product Managed well in order to market

The Visitor Economy is ALL travellers – not just holiday, but those travelling for business, as well as visiting friends or relatives (VFR).

Tourism in our region which includes the Capricorn Coast and Rockhampton is roughly a third Business, third VFR, third Holiday. 

Snapshot of visitation to yr ending Sep 2024:

883,000 domestic and 39,000 international visitors, a total of 922,000 visitors (Top 5 international markets – UK, Germany, NZ, Netherlands, France). 

2.7 Million domestic nights and 289,000 international nights.  Spending $809 Million – domestic visitors spend about $885 per visit and $289 per night.

We have about 2,500 commercial rooms in our region and we need 1,200 more in the next 8 years to 2032 to meet current and future demand.  We have another 1,000 or so caravan and tent sites as well as holiday homes.

In total we can accommodate about 8,500 visitors in a commercial bed. 

Visiting Friends & Relatives representing a third of our visitation and as population grows, so too will our VFR.

Proportionally, Business is stronger in Rockhampton, which is why a focus on Events is important to grow the leisure sector.  Proportionally, Holiday is stronger along the coast and islands, which is why a focus on new resort accommodation on Great Keppel Island, Yeppoon and Emu Park is key to keeping up with demand. 

Tourism (Accommodation & Food sector) is the 5th highest employer in our region (employing nearly 4,000 people).  Health (1), Education (2), Retail (3), Construction (4).

Up to 90% of our market is the drive market, but there is HUGE potential for more fly/drive and direct flights from major capital cities, but that will be dependent on our ability to see catalytic tourism product and experiences come to fruition.

When we think about 2045, 20 years into the future, what do we want our region to look like?

Our Towards Tourism 2032 targets for the Capricorn Coast/ Rockhampton region are:

  • 1,219 additional rooms (3.2% compound annual rate of growth CAGR) +50.2%
  • 8,228 additional monthly airline seats (1.8% CAGR)  +26%
  • 1 million annual road users (3.4% CAGR) +54%
  • $835M Overnight Visitor Expenditure (OVE) by 2032 (OVE $809M to yr ending Sep 2024)

In our current regional Capricorn Destination Tourism Plan to 2032, we have already highlighted some “big ticket items” including: Great Keppel Island resort, Surf Lakes Yeppoon, Rockhampton Stadium, Capricorn Coast Luxury accommodation and the re-opening of the Mount Morgan Clay Caverns (revealing dinosaur footprints in the ceiling, totally unique in the world).

In the past 20 years, in our previous Capricorn Destination Tourism Plans, as a region, our Local, State and Federal government representatives with our collective industry support, have achieved major public infrastructure including the $53 M Yeppoon foreshore redevelopment, the $36 M Rockhampton Riverfront redevelopment and the Emu Park foreshore redevelopment, not to mention the Yeppen South project, highway duplication from Rockhampton to Yeppoon, Panorama Drive, the Kinka Link road and Statue Bay Drive along the coast, multi-million dollar upgrades to the Rockhampton Regional Airport, and of course the Billion dollar Rockhampton Ring Road currently under construction.  ……

The magnificent $31.5 M Rockhampton Museum of Art, the Mount Archer Nurim Skywalk and the $20 M Keppel Bay Conference Centre and sailing hub are more examples of significant public funds invested in our region which were highlighted as Regional Priority Projects supported by industry advocacy to all three levels of governments.  Significant improvements in shared pathways and bikeways, parks and gardens, streetscapes have all added to the tourism portfolio.

The private sector has also significantly invested in our destination over the past 20 years!

New 4 to 4.5 star accommodation including Oshen Yeppoon (April 2014), Empire (Jan 2015), Edge and Quest Apartment Hotels, Kortes Resort (2015), Salt Yeppoon (Feb 2016) as well as Beaches on Lammermoor (2007), Echelon (2014) and Yeppoon Beachhouse (2018).  And many magnificent refurbishments of stunning heritage buildings including Denison Boutique Hotel, Quality Regent Hotel, Grand Hotel Mount Morgan, Gracemere Hotel, St Aubins Village, The Heritage Hotel, Headricks Lane, Riverston Tearooms and The Station 4703.

New tourism experiences including Shell World Yeppoon, Keppel Explorer, GKI Watersports & Keppel Dive, Keppel Konnections, Time Safari Tours, River Cruises CQ, Double Threat Fishing Charters, Capricorn Dinosaur Park, at least three local breweries and distilleries, permaculture and organic farms, rainforest chalets, magnificent boutique and unique wedding venues, restaurants, cafes and sporting clubs, are more examples of significant private sector investment in our region.

Capricorn Enterprise has been proud to work with ALL of these private sector investors!

So, fast forward 2045 – In 2045 I’ll be 76 – how old will you be?!  A sobering thought……

Economic, Environmental, Social and Cultural needs along with consumer demands have been met. 

The East-West Connector road from Neils Road to the Harbour on the Capricorn Coast has been completed which has allowed sustainable residential growth and a direct link to Rosslyn Bay Harbour, where the Keppel Bay Marina has realised its original hotel and residential master plan development. 

Not one, but three brand new boutique resorts are operating on Great Keppel Island along with award winning Indigenous Ranger Land and Sea Tours and spectacular boardwalks to lookouts and around coves, thanks to the realisation of the GKI Woppa Master Plan developed back in 2024.  Cruise ships are a regular sight in the cruising season with shore excursions to the island and mainland attractions including to the Capricorn Caves, Koorana Crocodile Farm and Dreamtime Cultural Centre, all which have expanded their experience offerings with niche tours and accommodation, tripling their visitation.

The Mount Morgan Fireclay Caverns and Capricorn Dinosaur Park Yeppoon have well and truly cemented themselves as must see attractions along the dinosaur trail from the outback to the reef.

International brands including Hilton, Oaks, Wyndham and Ovolo Hotels are well established on the island and the mainland with significant investment catering for ALL abilities.

Chris Hemsworth is a regular face (and grand-dad) at Surf Lakes Yeppoon which is attracting international surfers from around the globe. 

Thanks to the 2032 Olympics, the Fitzroy River rowing course has benefited from a Master Plan investment and is now the destination of choice for all state, national and international rowing competitions.  The Keppel Bay Sailing Club is also the destination of choice for state, national and international sailing championships. 

Direct flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Emerald, Longreach, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Cairns, Adelaide and Newcastle bring regular leisure and business visitors through the expanded Rockhampton Regional Airport to our Beef and Barra Capital in Central Queensland and our well established Capricorn Coast Southern Great Barrier Reef Destination, which was the first destination in Australia to achieve Advanced Ecotourism Destination Certification.  This is supported by multiple permaculture farms and a thriving paddock to plate local industry which commenced back in 2021 as Taste Capricorn Coast.

Rockhampton’s Major Events are experiencing record visitation with new hotels in the city accommodating the growing number of business and niche events.  Beef 2045 is the biggest yet, with the Rocky Showgrounds transformed with multi-million dollar infrastructure and daily flights from at least ten Australian capital cities and regional airports chartered just for this event; with a Beef and Reef themed boutique cruise anchored in the Fitzroy River.

In the past 20 years since 2025, our region has experienced natural disasters including floods, fires and cyclones, as comes with the territory in our sub-tropical climate, but infrastructure has been built back better and no longer does the mainstream media sensationalism affect our visitation. 

Mary Carroll, CEO Capricorn Enterprise

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