The Balonne Shire Council is transforming all residents into Welcome Ambassadors as they launch
a new tourism marketing campaign to navigate the region’s recovery from the COVID-19 shutdown.Balonne Shire Mayor Samantha O’Toole said ‘Welcome to Our Place’ follows on from the hugely
successful ‘Welcome Mate’ campaign that brought the community together to create the St George
Matesong which went viral.
“‘Welcome to Our Place’ builds on that ethos of friendship, loyalty and collaboration by employing
people power to rebuild our tourism industry,” she said.
“We have created a new promotional trailer to set the scene for us to tell seven stories, over seven
weeks, from our seven towns, to showcase our river town region through local eyes.”
“The mini-videos are the bush version of a short story series and will be released on our St George
and Surrounds Facebook page.”
Cr O’Toole said local businesses and the community are being encouraged to use the new
‘Welcome to Our Place’ Toolkit with logos, email signature, and website tile, to spread the word that the Balonne Shire is ready to welcome visitors back.
“Now Queenslanders can enjoy Queensland we are asking everyone to invite their family and
friends for a visit. Organise a family reunion, be a tourist guide for friends, or enjoy a staycation
and visit other towns,” she said.
“Let’s light up social media with our photos of visiting each other in our towns. Our smiling faces
and warm community spirit are what will sell the Balonne Shire as an amazing holiday destination
#WelcomeToOurPlace”.
The Welcome to Our Place Facebook group is also open for locals to post photos of the places
they love in our Shire so we can create a virtual exhibition of our river town region.
“It’s time to put a buzz down our main streets again and welcome visitors to ‘Our Place’ for the
holiday of a lifetime.”
