Blue Star Regional Sustainability Awards: 6-8 Nov 2015

The 2015 Blue Star Regional Award Ceremony will be held over 6-8 November 2015 in Gloucester, who was last year’s Overall NSW Tidy Town Winner. The weekend coincides with the Gloucester Platypus Festival… Read More

Devils in the Wild Tour – Sat 5 Dec 2015

Visit the Devil Ark conservation project in Barrington Tops and see Tasmanian Devils up close and personal on this sensational guided tour of the facility. Limited departures throughout the year with limited spots makes this a highly sought tour… Read More

Gloucester’s Brand Values

At the recent meeting of Tourism Advancing Gloucester, the Brand Values for Gloucester tourism were revisited for the first time since 2011 and the results are now published. These values are what tourism stands for in Gloucester… Read More

Photo Competition – Greetings from Glorious Gloucester!

To celebrate the launch of our new website, we’re giving photographers the chance to win some great cash prizes and have their talents showcased online with our Greetings from Glorious Gloucester postcards! Read More

The value of tourism

$51 million annually and 240 jobs in Gloucester.

This is the latest value of tourism to Gloucester. Gloucester has always been a farming town, it’s our heritage and it still shows…

Statistics published by Gloucester Shire Council shows that beef, dairy and other food growing accounts for 50% of local business and is the second largest employment sector with 20% of local jobs [1]. But newer sustainable industries such as tourism are substantial: there are 240 people (124 full time equivalent) whose jobs depend on tourism [2].

The largest industry sector in Gloucester is services/government at 32% of local jobs, followed in order by agriculture 20%, manufacturing/ construction 14%, health 11%, retail 11%, tourism 7% and mining 5%. Since these numbers were published in 2012, tourism jobs have been growing whilst mining jobs have halved and so mining now provides approximately 2% [3].

Meanwhile the latest state government statistics show tourism contributes $51 million annually to the Gloucester economy [4]. This includes $43 million from overnight visitors and $8 million from daytrippers.

Download the Gloucester LGA profile at Sep 2014 here.

These visitors don’t come to Gloucester by accident, they are not lost. They seek us out because of our reputation for scenic rural beauty and world heritage Barrington Tops wilderness. Our regions enjoys three times the NSW state average for bushwalking/rainforest. Market segments identified for future growth include adventure/experience tourism, nature based tourism, wellness and lifestyle, agri-tourism and short breaks [5].

Download the Gloucester Destination Management Plan 2015-18 here.

And what about the value of tourism for our neighbours? Our neighbouring regions also have exceptional tourism industries: Great Lakes $359m., Greater Taree $159m., Dungog $47m. [6] So when added with Gloucester, tourism contributes $616 million to the regional economy of the mid north coast. And that’s every year. Sustainable industries grow! We’d be crazy to let all this be ruined by destructive industries.

[1] About Our Shire, page 7 of Gloucester Community Strategic Plan 2012-2022, adopted by Council 27 June 2012.
[2] Employment survey by Gloucester Visitor Information Centre, Oct 2012.
[3] About Our Shire, page 7 of Gloucester Community Strategic Plan 2012-2022, adopted by Council 27 June 2012.
[4] http://www.destinationnsw.com.au/tourism/facts-and-figures/local-area-profiles/Gloucester
[5] Gloucester Destination Management Plan 2013-14, issued 20 June 2013.
[6] http://www.destinationnsw.com.au/tourism/facts-and-figures/local-area-profiles for Gloucester, Great Lakes, Greater Taree, Dungog

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Looking for a comprehensive listing of events, happenings and things to do in Gloucester? You can get updates emailed to you with all the latest news about upcoming events in Gloucester. Simply sign up here at eventsgloucester.com.au