Acting CEO of Tourism and Enterprise Whitsundays looks forward to journey

Passionate Whitsunday tourism advocate Danielle Seymour has been appointed Acting CEO of Tourism and Enterprise Whitsundays following the completion of Peter O’Reilly’s contract on Friday.

Ms Seymour who is the marketing services manager for the two organisations is looking forward to the role.

"It will be challenging because we’re at a crucial point of merging the two organisations and need to manage everything that comes with that – creating and communicating a new brand, creating a new partnership model and developing our new strategic plan.

"It will obviously also be a challenge to balance doing my own job at the same time! But it will be rewarding to lay those foundations for the new organisation and be able to pass on the reins to the new CEO to take things to the next level," Ms Seymour said.

It is expected to be several weeks before the new CEO is appointed and can commence, pending that person’s current contractual arrangements.

In his last letter to members as CEO, Mr O’Reilly told the community of the great honour it had been to market a truly spectacular region.

"It’s been a great honour to work with such a wonderful tourism industry and, most importantly, be surrounded by people I rate as the best RTO team in the State bar none."

Strathdickie couple christen Whitsundays' white whale

 Strathdickie residents Barry Brant and Lorraine Alexandrou have a self-skippered five-night sailing trip in their sights, as winners of the official competition to name the Whitsundays’ baby white whale.

 Mr Brant’s suggestion of “Chalkie” for the white whale calf’s name was selected by a panel of judges from a total of 599 unique and creative entries, submitted to Tourism Whitsundays over the past two weeks.

 Mr Brant said he chose the name because of the colour of chalk.

 “I just thought that chalk in its natural state is white and I thought it was cute,” he said.

 Tourism Whitsundays CEO Peter O’Reilly said the judges particularly liked the name because of its relevance to Chalkie’s Beach on Haslewood Island, which along with Whitehaven boasts beautiful white, silica sand.

 “Ultimately we chose Chalkie because of it’s double meaning – with chalk being white like the baby whale, and also there is a Chalkie’s Beach in the Whitsundays with stunning white sand near where the whale was first spotted,” Mr O’Reilly said.

“While a number of entrants suggested a similar name, the spelling ‘Chalkie’ was chosen to be the same as the beach, and Mr Brant was the only entrant to suggest the name spelt that way,” he said.

Mr Brant owns a motorboat but has never been sailing before and says he is looking forward to the “peace and serenity – just getting away from it all”.

Whitsunday Escape General Manager Trevor Rees said there was even a chance Mr Brant might spot Chalkie during the charter, which will take place in July/August next year.

 “Sailing through the Whitsundays is beautiful any time of the year, but we really hope that Barry and his friends are able to spot ‘Chalkie’ on their trip, during what is some of the best weather of the year in the Whitsundays and peak whale watching season here,” he said.

 There are now plans to establish a Facebook fan page for Chalkie so that whale watchers can post their photos and track sightings of the rare and unique whale as it grows up.

Whitsunday Tourism Awards honour industry's best

 Nearly 300 guests attended the 2011 Whitsunday Tourism Awards, with this year’s red carpet rolled out at the Whitsunday Airport for a night of celebrations with an aeronautical theme.

 Tourism Whitsundays’ CEO Peter O’Reilly made a spectacular seaplane entrance flanked by his wife Megan and the evening’s emcees. Ben Southall (fresh from his ‘best expedition in the world’) and Bruce “Hoppo” Hopkins (all the way from ‘Bondi Rescue’) were on hand for the presentation of 21 awards, paying tribute to the achievements of the Whitsunday tourism industry’s best.

 “It’s been a tough year (for the tourism industry) and this is a night to honour those who’ve gone the extra mile,” said Mr O’Reilly in his opening speech.

 Mr O’Reilly also commented on the tough job faced by the panel of independent judges, responsible for allocating each of the awards.

 “The standard and competiveness of the applications this year was exceptionally high. A number of the awards came down to just a handful of points,” he said.

 “The high quality of submissions shows just how hard we are working to promote the Whitsundays to the rest of the world.”

 Impassioned acceptance speeches were the flavour of the night with industry stakeholders encouraging each other to stay strong.

 Manager of Villa Botanica Janet Hogan, who was also celebrating the eve of her company’s 150^th wedding, said maybe Charles Darwin was wrong.

 “It’s not about survival of the fittest – it’s about co-operation and working together – understanding that each one of us is just a very small part of a larger organism – the Airlie Beach community,” Ms Hogan said.

 Especially notable award winners included young achiever Emily Smart and Volunteer Ambassador Co-ordinator Judi Dunn, who received a standing ovation for her “outstanding contribution by a volunteer”.

 “My husband is not going to believe this  - I am so touched I don’t know what to say,” Ms Dunn announced as she accepted her award.

 Ms Dunn was one of a handful of ladies whose high standards of fashion gave rise to an impromptu “best dressed” competition, with Caroline Allen eventually taking the crown.

 The evening was catered for by Fish D’Vine, with after dinner entertainment by the 1RAR band, who ensured that the Whitsunday tourism industry kicked up its collective heels.

Whitsundays' white whale needs a name

 Following the spectacular sighting of a white baby whale in the Whitsundays two weeks ago, a campaign has been launched to give the little humpback a name.

 Tourism Whitsundays together with local charter company Whitsunday Escape is offering a five night Whitsundays sailing holiday to the person who submits the best name for the new baby whale.

 “As we hope to see this new whale each year on it’s annual migration, we felt it really needed a name for everyone to refer to it as,” Tourism Whitsundays Chief Executive Officer Peter O’Reilly said.

 “Whether or not it’s related to the famous ‘Migaloo’ who has migrated up and down the coast over the past few years, this white calf will be equally as popular for whale spotters and should have a name,” he said.

 “Of course the name will need to not be gender specific, as we know so little about this calf including whether it is male or female. We look forward to learning much more about it as it grows up and continues to migrate along the coast each year.”

 The competition opens today at www.facebook.com/WhitsundaysQLD and closes on Wednesday, October 26, with judging to be conducted by Tourism Whitsundays, Whitsunday Escape and the local who first spotted the whale.

 The winner’s holiday includes five nights on board a 38foot sailing catamaran (which comfortably fits five passengers) during the Whitsundays prime whale watching time from July 1 to August 31, 2012.  No formal qualifications are required to charter a vessel, and a sail guide will be provided for up to 2 days to teach the charterer/s the basics of sailing.  The prize is valued at $5,000.

 Manager of Whitsunday Escape Trevor Rees said the white baby whale had been sighted on several occasions over the past couple of months, by charter guests, staff and other visitors.

 “It is expected that the (competition) winners will more than likely see the whale they named when it returns to the Whitsundays (next year),” Mr Rees said.

 “There has been a lot of interest in the new calf and video footage has been shown on news channels all over the world. This is a great opportunity to promote the Whitsundays,” he said.

Photo courtesy Wayne Fewing.

Iconic Whitsundays charter boat sinks

 Explore Whitsundays’ premier Tall Ship ‘Whitsunday Magic’ sank while tied to the dock at Shute Harbour in the early hours of Friday August 5.

Explore Whitsundays Marketing Director Allen Grundy said fortunately no-one was on board or injured during the incident.

“Words cannot explain how devastating it is to see our ‘Magic’ at the moment,” Mr Grundy said.

 “Our immediate priority is to work with guests who are booked over the coming weeks to ensure they still enjoy an amazing Whitsunday experience. We are also working to have the boat lifted out of the water as soon as possible. Until then it is impossible to ascertain what happened or the extent of the damage,” he said.

On Thursday August 4, Whitsunday Magic returned to Shute Harbour after a 3-night charter. All passengers exited and the crew preformed the standard vessel turn-around.

The vessel was then on a scheduled maintenance break to fit a dive compressor on the foredeck and install new custom-built storage lockers for dive and snorkelling equipment, but it sank at the dock at around 2.30am.

A spokesperson from Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) said MSQ was investigating the event.

“We’ve established there was no risk of pollutants entering the water and MSQ is in discussions with the owner regarding salvage arrangements,” the spokesperson said.

Mr Grundy said Explore Whitsundays would like to thank Maritime Safety Queensland, Shute Harbour management, Whitsunday Police, Tourism Whitsundays and Oceanic Insurance Brokers who have all been of great assistance. 

“This is heartbreaking for the owners and staff at Explore Whitsundays, as well as for the many hundreds of guests who are booked on her over the next few months,” Mr Grundy said.

“We would like to assure travellers and locals that we will do everything to restore this beautiful vessel and have her touring the Whitsundays again as soon as we can,” he said.

“We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the businesses and friends of ours, and past and present staff and crew who have offered assistance and support over the past few days.”

Tourism Whitsundays Chief Executive Officer Peter O’Reilly expressed his sadness at the news.

“Not only is Explore Whitsundays one of the premier business operators in the Whitsunday region, but the boat itself is a stunning vessel with a long history,” Mr O’Reilly said.

“We hope the boat can be salvaged and look forward to hopefully seeing it back out on the water in due course.”

Shadow Tourism Minister on tour

 Shadow Tourism Minister Jann Stuckey is going to take “a special interest” in the Whitsundays having come here last week.

 Ms Stuckey met with representatives from the local Tourism industry including Tourism Whitsundays, the Proserpine Chamber of Commerce, Airlie Beach Main Street Traders Association and Enterprise Whitsundays, during her stay.

 Ms Stuckey’s visit was part of a “listening tour” seeking feedback from small business operators, “to identify areas they feel state government could get off their backs”.

 “I am on a very committed mission to visit the areas that are under the most stress, which is why I have chosen to come here and why I’m heading to Cairns soon,” Ms Stuckey said.

 “My disappointment in the neglect by the state government in this area is all the worse because your local member is also supposed to be Tourism Minister,” she said.

 Ms Stuckey said she was “appalled” by the “abuse from your council” describing the recent slashing of funding and closure of the information centre as “almost like dancing on graves”.

 “When your chips are down you market more,” Ms Stuckey said, drawing on her background in marketing and customer service.

 “You have a minister who has not gone on the warpath after the mayor and on top of that her attitude to news that the carbon tax is going to hit this industry more than any other was, and I quote, “just wait and see”,” she said.

 Ms Stuckey praised local operators whose “fighting spirit and attachment to the area is impressive”.

 “I have met real people here. People who give a damn and people who should be listened to,” she said.

 Tourism Whitsundays Chief Executive Officer Peter O’Reilly said he was very pleased to have the Tourism Minister from alternative state government in the region.

 “It was a great opportunity to talk to her about the challenges facing the Whitsundays tourism industry at this time.

 “The state government is very closely aligned with tourism promotion being the funding provider for Tourism Queensland. As a result it is important that the state government representatives have a clear idea of the needs of the Whitsunday tourism industry,” he said.

 President of the Proserpine Chamber of Commerce Janine Muller said given the current issues facing the community, this was a very timely visit.

 “I think it’s great that she took time out to come and see us. We didn’t ask her to come – she came off her own back. She really wanted to get a grasp of how this area ran and what was important to our town,” Ms Muller said.

Tony Abbott visits the Whitsundays

 The leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott made a brief stop in the Whitsundays this week, whilst promoting his anti carbon tax campaign. Mr Abbott took time out from his busy schedule to become an eco-warrior for an afternoon, joining Eco Barge Services director Libby Edge and her trusty band of volunteers in a clean-up mission to South Molle.

 “For me, it was really stunning to see just how much rubbish there was on beaches that to the naked eye at first glance look pretty pristine. It’s really important that we encourage people like Libby,” Mr Abbott said.

 “I think that the Government has neglected direct action on the environment ever since the current government started talking about emissions trading schemes and carbon taxes. Real action to help the environment has been lacking,” he said.

 Mr Abbott told the Guardian that as well as opposing the carbon tax the coalition had plenty of “positive environmental policies”.

 “One of the policies that I’m particularly committed to is the Green Army which is about deploying 15,000 people into environmental hotspots like this to provide the hands-on, practical environmental assistance that appropriate land care for Australia really needs. The Green Army would certainly be available to supplement the work of Libby Edge and her volunteers cleaning up this part of our coastline,” he said.

 Ms Edge, whose Eco Barge program relies on funding, said it was wonderful to take Tony Abbott on a trip and show him first-hand what marine debris is.

 “If Tony can come onboard and support us in protecting our island (which is Australia), from dumping our rubbish into the ocean, protecting our islands and our marine life, that would be a wonderful solution,” she said.

 Yesterday, Mr Abbott also took the opportunity to meet representatives from Tourism Whitsundays and industry leaders, who were keen to ensure the coalition had an understanding of tourism in the region and the challenges currently faced.

 Tourism Whitsunday Chief Executive Officer Peter O’Reilly said discussions included a number of the region’s crucial infrastructure projects, including the Whitsunday Coast Airport, Airlie Beach’s main street and broader issues such as the shortcomings of the Bruce Highway.

 “We were able to point out that the Whitsundays is the most tourism dependent region in Queensland, with Queensland’s greatest concentration of tourism workers. It is great to have recognition from the highest level of alternative government in this country,” Mr O’Reilly said. 

 Executive Secretary for the Whitsunday Charter Boat Industry Association (WCBIA) Deb Lewis, who attended the meeting, said Federal Member for Dawson George Christensen had taken issues away to address immediately.

 “Tony Abbott was very mindful of our situation, but at the end of the day the proof’s in the pudding,” Ms Lewis said.

 “All politicians can talk rhetoric but it should be about getting results.”