CQUniversity Australia
 

Engaging Indigenous people within Higher Ed

CQUniversity's Office of Indigenous Engagement recently hosted a visit from the Oodgeroo Unit of Queensland University of Technology (QUT), at Rockhampton Campus.

Professor Anita Lee Hong, Director of the Oodgeroo Unit, and Lone Pearce, Project Officer, met with Office of Indigenous Engagement staff to discuss employment issues and best practice models for engaging Indigenous people within the higher education sector, including governance matters.

Full Details…

Other News…

Report reveals friends and relatives love to stay in CQ 

Published on 29 January, 2007 

A report has revealed that almost > of Central Queenslanders have hosted up to 1 million visiting friends and relatives (VFR) in the past year.

A copy of a report by CQU’s tourism lecturer Jillian Litster on VFR hosting patterns of local residents was presented last week to Dr Ricki Jeffery, Executive Director, Rockhampton Regional Development Ltd, and Grant Cassidy, Chair, Capricorn Tourism.

PhotoID:3861 The report also stated that the average length of visit by these guests was for more than 3 days duration and that although most VFRs stayed with their hosts and not in paid accommodation, money still circulated in the community as a result of VFR activity.

From the study, a very conservative estimate of $21 million was calculated as being spent per year in VFR related activity in Central Queensland. Much of this is directed toward increased use of restaurants, takeaways, and shopping.

Ms Litster’s study also proved that VFR hosting boosted visits to local attractions. Over 180,000 visitors to local attractions were generated in the past 12 months as result of hosting VFR.

Ms Litster said the VFR market in Central Queensland was an important but under investigated area of economic activity.

Although quite a bit of research exists that explores the VFR market from the perspective of the person travelling, very little information exists on the people who host the visiting friends and relatives.

“This report is an important step in understanding the patterns of behaviour of the hosts and their guests when visiting the region,” she said.

The report presents the findings from a survey of 1230 Central Queensland residents, conducted as part of the annual CQSS2006 – Central Queensland Social Survey.

Photo: (from L to R): Dr Ricki Jeffery (Executive Director, Rockhampton Regional Development Ltd), Jillian Litster, and Mr Grant Cassidy (Chair, Capricorn Tourism) with the report that states that up to 1 million friends and relatives have stayed in CQ in the last year.

Title of the report is: 2006 Survey of Central Queensland Residents Who Host Visiting Friends and Relatives, released January 2007.