News: Alliance grows tourism prospects in Barkly

Council enters into new partnerships to promote the Overlander's Way from Townsville to Tennant.

Posted: Friday, 27 November 2015

Barkly Regional Council (BRC) recently agreed on a partnership with seven other councils and an outback tourism body from Queensland to promote the Overlander’s Way from Townsville to Tennant Creek.
President Barb Shaw said the partnership will serve to promote tourism service delivery along the self-drive track which served as an important line during World War II and stretches across 1550km taking visitors from the ocean to the outback.
The new agreement builds on a partnership set up in 2013 and is set out in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Townsville City Council, Charters Towers Regional Council, Flinders Shire Council, Richmond Shire Council, McKinlay Shire Council, Cloncurry Shire Council, Mt Isa City Council, Barkly Regional Council and the North West Outback Queensland Tourism Association (NWOQTA).
The vision of NWOQTA and the member councils is to lead or assist in the exploration of further tourism opportunities for the Overlander’s Way which takes in the Great Barrier Reef, a dinosaur graveyard, historically rich outback towns, the Barkly Highway and the Devil’s Marbles.
"This is a marvellous opportunity and a major focus in terms of developing regional tourism," said President Shaw. "Building up relationships with a cross border alliance is important and encourages tourism to the outback and over to Tennant Creek and the unique beauty we have in the Barkly region. It’s all part of the bigger picture strategy of Council."
Council also has a representative on the local Tourism Advisory Committee. There’s a lot to see and do in the Barkly and we want potential visitors to know all about it.