Opinion split over pricey reef outings
A LEADING Cairns-based tourism expert has questioned whether the scUber campaign is going to be the trigger the industry needs to get back on track.
The State Government unveiled the quirky campaign on Thursday which will see punters using the rideshare app Uber and paying $1500 for a taxi and helicopter transfer to the Great Barrier Reef, followed by a one-hour submarine ride.
It will be available in Cairns, Palm Cove and Port Douglas between June 9-18.
Tourism and Events Queensland hopes to attract an additional 1.4 million tourists to the reef and an extra $1.8 billion in overnight visitor spending over the next three years through the campaign, which focuses on key Queensland markets including the US, it’s a hostel, backpackers don’t have money, so we’re pricing in the area of $10 for a burger and chips.”
The company is sourcing local ingredients, with vegetables from Rusty’s, beef from Canada, France, New Zealand and the UK.
But Professor Bruce Prideaux, the director of CQUniversity’s Cairns based Centre for Tourism and Regional Opportunities, said he worried the high cost of the trip may deter visitors.
“People might think if that’s what it costs to go to the reef they’re maybe not interested,” he said. “It will attract some people, but not too many.
“It’s very novel. But in a Ravenshoe and beer from the nearby Coral Sea Brewery.
The opening night starts at 6pm tomorrow. It will include a special deal for two burgers with chips and sauces and a jug of Coral Sea Craft beer for $25. year how many people will remember that?”
In its first 24 hours, more than 25,000 people entered a competition offering the experience for free.
TEQ insiders have estimated the campaign, which cost $3 million, has generated more than $53 million in publicity
Mr Prideaux said reef marketing needed to more accurately reflect what people see when they get here.
He said the campaign could potentially promote innovation if a company invested in a permanent and larger submarine on the reef which could carry more people and be cheaper.
But Cairns MP Michael Healy, the former marketing boss of Quicksilver, supported the strategy.
“I think what it does, the real potential of it, is it expands the knowledge that the Great Barrier Reef is healthy and alive,” he said.