CEO REFLECTION:
10 YEARS OF LADY MUSGRAVE EXPERIENCE

As Lady Musgrave Experience celebrates its 10-year anniversary, I’ve found myself reflecting on a journey I’ve personally been part of for more than a decade. And what it has taught me about destination leadership, the value of partnerships and playing for the long game.

I joined Bundaberg Tourism in 2013, at a time when the vision for a locally based Great Barrier Reef day cruise operation was already well established. The Bundaberg - Fraser Coast Tourism Opportunity Plan (2009) had identified it years earlier as a catalyst project for the region, critical to unlocking our potential as the southern gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. And my forward thinking predecessors had started to develop a business case to attract a suitable investor and operator. What was far less clear at that point was how we would get there, and who would ultimately be capable of bringing that vision to life.

Those early years were defined by groundwork rather than headlines. Feasibility studies, a community taskforce of professionals, permit pathways, relentless conversations and patient persistence. Much of the work happened quietly, well before there was a vessel, a product or a single booking to point to. It required navigating regulatory complexity, environmental responsibility and commercial reality, and accepting that meaningful destination outcomes rarely move at the pace we’d like!

Bundaberg Tourism stepped deliberately into a stewardship role during this period. Not to operate a tourism business, but to endeavour to navigate barriers, reduce risk and create the conditions for high-quality tourism investment to thrive. Together with driven locals with a vision, the organisation invested time and work into securing the GBRMPA permits to provide certainty rather than control, and focused on building a foundation strong enough to support long-term success…. even if it took years to see the result.

When I stepped into the role of General Manager in 2015, the focus sharpened again. The groundwork was largely in place; the next challenge was finding the right operator. And that, I’ve learned, is where many destination projects succeed or fail.

Infrastructure alone doesn’t deliver outcomes. People do. Communities do.

Lady Musgrave Experience didn’t succeed by chance. It succeeded because of vision, tenacity and an uncompromising commitment to excellence in marine operations. Behind the experience are long days at sea, late nights, relentless pitching, personal and community investment, volunteer hours, constant refinement and a deep respect for the reef off our shores here in Bundaberg. Destination organisations can create opportunity, but it takes an extraordinary operator, with drive, resilience and passion, to bring it to life.

Equally important has been the role of the Bundaberg tourism and business community. Existing tourism and accommodation operators recognised the value of new investment coming into the region and actively supported it. They packaged the experience, collaborated on marketing, shared networks, pre-purchased seats and opened doors. That early belief helped embed Lady Musgrave Experience into the regional tourism ecosystem from the outset and buoyed it through the critical early years.

That Team Bundaberg approach - collaboration over competition, shared ambition over silos - remains one of our greatest strengths as a destination. Tourism grows strongest when communities back each other and recognise that collective success delivers far greater returns than individual wins.

Today, Lady Musgrave Experience stands as a benchmark for high-standard marine tourism operations in Queensland. It has created jobs, driven visitation, strengthened Bundaberg’s identity as a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and demonstrated that environmentally responsible tourism and commercial success can, and should, go hand in hand.

For me, this 10 year milestone of LME, and 12 years of being part of the journey, reinforces some clear lessons for future destination projects.

Destination leadership is a long game. It requires patience, evidence-led decision making and the courage to invest well before outcomes are visible. It demands collaboration across government, industry and community, and a willingness to step forward when markets alone can’t yet carry the risk. Most importantly, it requires finding and backing the right people, operators with the capability, character and commitment to deliver excellence over time.

As we look to the future, these lessons will continue to shape how we approach destination development across the Bundaberg and Southern Great Barrier Reef region. The goal isn’t simply to deliver more projects, but to deliver the right projects - those that create lasting economic value, protect what makes our place special, and serve the greater good of our community. Lady Musgrave Experience is a success story worth celebrating.

Not just for what it has become, but for how it was built, with vision, resilience and a community working together over time to achieve something truly special.

The gigantic community effort that conspired for Lady Musgrave Experience success was made possible with the additional local support of: Neil McPhillips, Cameron Bisley, Daniel Reeves, Martin Barrett, Jason Pascoe, Michael Owens, Loni Hammond, Rick Matkowski, James Corvan, Bill Moorehead, Joey Caruana, Geoff Beyer, Dave Orgill, Stephen Bennett MP, Darryl Dorron, Duncan Littler and many, many more people that contributed vision, dollars and expertise.

Happy 10th birthday Brett and the Lady Musgrave Experience team who bring the business to life everyday.

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