Podcasts latest way to spread tourism word
TOURISM in Cairns is about to find a whole new audience thanks to a podcast.
National podcast series Drive Your Own Adventure will shine a spotlight on Queensland’s regional tourism hot spots along popular road trip routes.
The 30-episode series, presented by Ingenia Holidays and featuring Skyrail, Cairns Aquarium and Tjapukai Cultural Centre, broadcasts behind the scenes insights from tourism operators and local tourism identities.
Ingenia Holidays chief operating officer Nikki Fisher said 22 per cent of Australians now listened to podcasts, up from 18 per cent last year, and the series would add something unique to the current podcast landscape.
“The podcast airwaves are full of people recounting travel stories, but this series gets up close and personal with many of our region’s favourite tourism operators as well as some of the ‘hidden gems’ that are well-known locally, but lesser known to the broader market,” Ms Fisher said.
“With more and more people listening to podcasts, we’re finding that people are using them as a tool to help plan their holidays, and for people on the road a lot — like road trippers and caravaners — a podcast is the perfect way to do that holiday research en route.”
Ms Fisher said the choice to heavily feature Cairns tourism operators and personalities on the podcast was easy, given the uniqueness of the area and the healthy tourism market — with domestic visitors to Tropical North Queensland up five per cent to two million visitors in the year ending March 2019, according to data from Tourism and Events Queensland.
“Cairns is a bucket list destination for Aussies and international visitors, and it’s easy to see why — tourists can visit two World Heritage-listed sites, the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest, and it’s a destination where people can learn about the rich culture and history of indigenous Australians,” Ms Fisher said.
“One of the episodes features Daniel Leipnik, one of the directors of Cairns Aquarium, who tells us about the unique Far North Queensland biodiversity and gives us an insight into the conservation element to the facility — including rehabilitating injured sea turtles and breeding native lizards that are extinct in the wild.”
The first instalment is available at www.ingeniaholidays.com.au/podcast or via free download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud or Stitcher. Blazing Saddles Adventures, Reef Restoration Foundation, Tjapukai Cultural Park, Atherton Tablelands, Mt Uncle Distillery, Skybury Tropical Plantation, David Hudson indigenous edutainer, Paronella Park and Undara Experience will also feature in the podcast.