G.A.P.D.L

05/06/2026

It's not every day the Gladstone Region is recognised alongside Tourism Ministers, aviation CEOs, destination leaders and the Irwin family. 👀

GAPDL's Interim CEO, Dee Dalton, has been named as 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟗𝟓 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝'𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.

For the Gladstone Region to be recognised among such a strong field is fantastic recognition of the momentum building across our destination and the growing profile of the Southern Great Barrier Reef.

Of course, this recognition reflects the collective effort of our tourism operators, volunteers, members, funding partners, local businesses, community champions, Board and the entire GAPDL team who work tirelessly to showcase everything our region has to offer.

Not a bad way to head into the weekend. 💙

05/06/2026

Who’s heading to Ecofest this Sunday? 🙌🌿

Spend the day surrounded by nature at Gladstone Tondoon Botanic Gardens with live music, hands-on workshops, market stalls, family-friendly activities and plenty of delicious food vendors 🍔🍦🎶

Even better, you can skip the parking stress and catch the FREE shuttle buses running throughout the day 🚌

📍 Tondoon Botanic Gardens
📅 Sunday 7 June
⏰ 9am–3pm

Find all the event details here: www.gladstone.qld.gov.au/Things-To-Do/Events/Ecofest

📸: Courtesy of Gladstone Regional Council

04/06/2026

Today is World Environment Day 🌏🌿

As an ECO Certified Destination, the Visit Gladstone Region, Queensland is proud to work alongside tourism operators committed to protecting and showcasing the incredible natural environments that make our region so special 💙

A big shout out to our eco-certified operators:

🌿 Traveller's Rest 1770
🌊 1770 LARC! Tours
🥽 Dive Spear and Sport at 1770
🐠 Heron Island
🏝 Wilson Island

Thank you for helping showcase the Gladstone Region through sustainable tourism experiences.

02/06/2026

Calling all Tourism Operators 📣

Want practical ideas to grow your business, improve your online distribution, increase bookings, and better understand emerging trends like AI?

Arival 360 Brisbane is a three-day conference designed specifically for tour, attraction and experience operators, bringing together industry leaders from across Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region. Topics include technology, distribution, pricing, guest experience and industry trends.

Exclusive discounts are available to local tourism businesses:

✅ 15% off registration with promo code MPAU-TEXV26
✅ Operators with annual revenue under USD$250,000 may be eligible for a 40% discount

Learn more: www.arival.travel/event/2026-brisbane/

22–24 June 2026, Arival 360 | Brisbane brings together tour, activity, attraction, and multi-day operators from across Australia, New Zealand, and APAC for an operator-first event focused on technology, distribution and connectivity. Meet and learn from growth-minded peers in tours and attractions...

01/06/2026

Meet some of the locals helping make the Visit Gladstone Region, Queensland such a special place to visit 💙

As part of our local stories series from Agnes Water & Town of 1770, this week we’re getting to know Simon from 1770 Liquid Adventures 🌊🚣

Together with his wife Janina, Simon has spent more than a decade creating small-scale experiences that allow visitors to slow down and enjoy nature at its best. After 16 years living in the region, he says he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else ☀️

From peaceful paddles around the sandbars to close encounters with local wildlife, Simon loves sharing the natural beauty and relaxed lifestyle of Agnes Water & Town of 1770 with everyone who joins the adventure, including plenty of four-legged companions along the way.

28/05/2026

Ahead of ATE26 in Adelaide / Tarntanya earlier this month, the Gladstone Region welcomed several international travel buyers as part of a pre-ATE famil across the Southern Great Barrier Reef 🌏✈️

With buyers from Southern World, ATS Pacific and Audley Travel (UK) visiting the region before Australia’s biggest annual tourism trade event, the famil provided an opportunity to showcase some of the experiences helping put the Gladstone Region on the map internationally.

From the reef and coral cay experiences of Heron Island and Wilson Island to the wider Southern Great Barrier Reef destination, the visit helped build valuable connections ahead of a busy week of trade appointments at ATE26 🤝

A big thank you to Capricorn Enterprise, participating operators and regional partners who helped bring the experience together and showcase the region to the international market.

27/05/2026

📺 The Gladstone Region scored a fantastic national TV moment on Monday, featuring in a live cross on the TODAY Show as part of Tourism and Events Queensland’s That Holiday Feeling Starts Here campaign.

With just 30 seconds to pitch the region to Australia, Neil Mergard showcased the Visit Gladstone Region, Queensland and Southern Great Barrier Reef through 1770 LARC! Tours, giving viewers a taste of the iconic pink amphibious craft generating plenty of buzz around the region right now.

It’s fantastic to see the Gladstone Region continuing to feature prominently in national campaigns and media coverage. ☀️

Check out the campaign here 👉 www.queensland.com/au/en/that-holiday-feeling-starts-here

26/05/2026

Regional tourism operators, this one’s for you 👀

Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) is launching a new Regional Experience Incentive Program aimed at encouraging more Australians to holiday in regional Queensland this winter 🌴

Eligible tourism experiences across the Southern Great Barrier Reef region, including Gladstone, Bundaberg and Capricorn, are invited to join a short webinar to learn how the program will work and how businesses can get involved.

📅 Thursday 28 May 2026
⏰ 2:30pm – 3:00pm AEST

Eligible categories include:
✔️ Tours
✔️ Attractions
✔️ Tourism-led food & beverage experiences
✔️ Cultural tourism experiences

Register here 👇
https://tinyurl.com/2nm6tbbk

25/05/2026

Meet some of the people helping make the Visit Gladstone Region, Queensland such a special place to visit 💙

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing a series of local stories from Agnes Water & Town of 1770, highlighting the passionate operators and tourism businesses that help shape the visitor experience across our region.

First up is Mike from Traveller's Rest 1770 🌳🍃

Together with his wife Michi, Mike built Travellers Rest 1770 around a simple vision: 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. Located on the doorstep of Eurimbula National Park, the Eco Certified Tourism operator invites visitors to slow down and immerse themselves in the surrounding bushland through experiences like the accessible BushTracks Eco Tour.

For Mike, it’s about more than just accommodation, it’s about sharing the passion he and his family have for the property, the surrounding environment and the slower rhythm of life that makes this special part of the Gladstone Region feel completely different.

22/05/2026

What a week 💙

We hope you’ve enjoyed following along this National Volunteer Week as we celebrated the incredible people behind the Gladstone Region.

Whether they’re welcoming visitors, sharing local tips, helping at events or indulging our social media team, our Gladstone Region ambassadors really know how to roll up their sleeves and get things done 👏

To wrap up the week, our Gladstone volunteers enjoyed a lovely morning at Gladstone Tondoon Botanic Gardens, including a special tour through the Bonsai House with Beau 🍃

And thanks to Gladstone Regional Council’s Local Legends Volunteer Recognition Fund, the celebrations continued with morning tea at Junction CAFE at Tondoon ☕🍰

Meanwhile, our Agnes Water & Town of 1770 volunteers have been busy behind the scenes helping with the 1770 Arts Show launch festivities 🎨✨ Safe to say the celebrations will happen after everyone’s had a chance to recover 😅

Thank you to each and every one of our volunteers for the time, passion and local knowledge you share so generously with visitors and our community every single week 💙