About the Southern Great Barrier Reef
| In this module, you will learn about the Southern Great Barrier Reef partnership, including the rationale and history of the SGBR, our activities under this brand, and our target markets. |
The Southern Great Barrier Reef (SGBR) is a cooperative destination marketing and development partnership between Bundaberg Tourism and the Regional Tourism organisations in the Gladstone (GAPDL) and Capricorn (CE) regions, encapsulating the southern gateway of the world heritage listed Great Barrier Reef.
The Southern Great Barrier Reef partnership aims to grow the Bundaberg region’s international market visitation, length of stay and expenditure, and our region’s reputation as the start of the Great Barrier Reef.
In 2019, the United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand and the USA made up our region’s top four international source markets, with these being our priority for targeted marketing and in-market representation.
WHY "SOUTHERN GREAT BARRIER REEF"?
The brand firmly establishes these regions as the official start of one of the world’s greatest wonders and most well-known destinations…and it’s a partnership that enables us to pool our resources to stretch them further than ever before!
WHAT IS THE SOUTHERN GREAT BARRIER REEF ABOUT?
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s most iconic destinations for travelers. Yet there are still parts of The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s most iconic destinations for travelers. Yet there are still parts of thereof where visitors can feel like intrepid explorers, as if they were discovering places no one else has ever seen.
The Southern Great Barrier Reef offers visitors the chance to see large hard coral reefs firsthand and join colourful fish and big marine life like turtles and manta rays for a swim. At just over 4 hours drive from Brisbane, this unique region can easily be included as part of a larger itinerary and the snorkeling is within easy reach, right off the beach.
WHY SHOULD OUR GUESTS CHOOSE THE SOUTHERN GREAT BARRIER REEF?
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is 2,300 kilometres long and approximately 344,400 square kilometres in size – which is about 70 million football fields, or the size of Japan. So how do visitors choose their reef experience?
Accessibility
The Southern Great Barrier Reef starts only a short 4 hour drive or a 45 minute flight from Brisbane. You can reach the reef on a short day trip, or alternatively you can stay on or around an island of the Southern Great Barrier Reef, where the reef can be accessed straight from the beach or the boat.
Giant Marine Life
Due to cooler waters in the Southern Great Barrier Reef there are slightly different types of coral to other parts of Great Barrier Reef, and an abundance of plankton which support GIANT marine life, like turtles and manta ray. Have you ever witnessed a manta ray with a wing span of 20 feet in length, or a loggerhead sea turtle that weighs 135 kilograms? You can when visiting the Southern Great Barrier Reef!
Intimate Experiences
Tours and attractions in the Southern Great Barrier Reef are quality, generally small scale businesses, which means visitors will enjoy intimate group experiences, and feel like ‘intrepid’ explorers, receiving a very personal experience rather than being surrounded by mass amounts of other travelers.
TARGET MARKETS
Domestic
The Southern Great Barrier Reef brand was launched in the domestic market in 2017 to begin to educate Australian travelers that there is more to the Great Barrier Reef that they have yet to discover and to improve the understanding domestic travelers have of the 3 regions.
As of December 2021, Southern Great Barrier Reef ranked fourth of Queensland's destinations for domestic visitor numbers and fifth for visitor nights.
International
In 2019, the United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand, and the USA made up our region’s top four international source markets, with these being our priority for targeted marketing and in-market representation.
DIVE DEEPER
View the latest SGBR visitation data here
View the 2021/22 SGBR overview data here
WHAT DO WE DO AS SOUTHERN GREAT BARRIER REEF?
There are three main arms to our Southern Great Barrier Reef promotions:
Always-On Social Media Strategy
The Southern Great Barrier Reef social media channels have over 74,000 followers and reach millions of people each year through our inspirational content.
Consumer Marketing & Activities
Details of 2022/23 consumer marketing activities will be released when available
Trade Development & Representation
Southern Great Barrier Reef Leaders Program
The Southern Great Barrier Reef Leaders Program brings together key tourism stakeholders to build relationships, improve SGBR product understanding, encourage discussion and collaboration, share knowledge and to build on existing momentum.
Tourism Trade Mentoring
Operators wanting to work with international and domestic tourism buyers can participate in a Trade Mentoring program to learn about how the distribution of tourism works and what is required to be involved.
Tourism Trade Development Program
Operators and RTOs deliver an ongoing suite of trade development activities, including education of trade partners through webinars and collateral; undertaking domestic and international trade and sales missions (both in person and virtually); liaison with representatives from key markets to understand and disperse information and opportunities; and through coordination and advocacy to drive awareness and representation through our travel trade partners.
Full details of Bundaberg and SGBR trade activities can be found in our Trade Development module
DIVE DEEPER
Explore the Southern Great Barrier Reef consumer channels
facebook.com/southerngreatbarrierreef
instagram.com/southerngreatbarrierreef
Read more about our Trade activities on our Corporate Blog
Explore the Southern Great Barrier Reef trade resources at southerngreatbarrierreef.com.au
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP
Join the social media conversation
Tag @SouthernGreatBarrierReef or #SouthernGreatBarrierReef to give us permission to repost your social media content
Get involved
For more information about SGBR contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Marketing Manager or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Trade & Industry Development Executive