Inaugural Rail Trails and Tourism Conference a great success

From November 6-7, 2024, Bicycle Queensland co-hosted the Rail Trails and Tourism conference with Somerset Regional Council. The conference was held at Somerset Civic Centre in Esk, Queensland. The conference was made possible by support from the Queensland Government.

Wednesday November 6 was lead by Somerset Regional Council, with a focus on business opportunities on rail trails, with specific examples for the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT).

Attendees heard from Professor David Solnet and Professor Pierre Benckendorff from the University of Queensland, who did an extensive study on visitors to the  BVRT. They also heard from various speakers, including Peter Horman, CEO of Queensland Country Tourism. His presentation gave fascinating insights into the data driven decisions around tourism and destination marketing, helping to improve the understanding of potential market size around rail trail experiences.

Linda Tillman from Tilma Group Consultancy gave a presentation that dug into why visitor experiences that are unique and memorable are essential for any tourism offering – and rail trails are no different. There were many takeaways for this session, especially for businesses around a rail trail who are looking to attract visitors and gain word of mouth recommendations.

Dr Richard Buning from the University of Queensland delivered a presentation on cycle tourism, with a glimpse at some global best practices and how rail trails can help be part of a picture to grow cycle tourism in Queensland and Australia.

Conference attendees delved into a group session lead by Rowan Lamont from Blue Sky Trails, problem solving and brainstorming ideas to boost growth for rail trail businesses and the awareness of experiences alongside a rail trail. This was followed by a panel discussion with four different bike riders with a wide variety of experiences of using the BVRT.

A networking function was held that evening at the Esk Grand Hotel, offering a chance for attendees to catch up in a social setting – and in many cases share notes on the progress of their own projects.

Day two of the Rail Trails and Tourism conference started with a ride on the BVRT for those keen to start early, before a casual BBQ breakfast at the Somerset Civic Centre. Day 2 was delivered by Bicycle Queensland, and was all about how to build a rail trail.

This included input from Bicycle Queensland’s CEO Alton Twine on the importance of rail trails in the promotion of bike riding and active lifestyles, and a presentation from Desley O’Grady, President of the Boyne Burnett Inland Rail Trail, about the importance of having a vision when taking on such a large project.

Craig England from the Department of Transport and Main Roads busted myths about how corridors are secured, explaining the process involved with a rail line becoming available for a new project. This included managing leases, sale of assets – and avoiding losing access entirely!

With the success of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail, those attending the conference enjoyed an in-depth session from Iain Lonsdale from Tweed Shire Council, about the planning involved for a rail trail, including the finer details of understanding users, desired experiences, safety, limitations, climatic conditions and even material choices.

Paul Heymans, Patron of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Users Association, dug into the history and politics around the staged development of the BVRT, including hurdles and methods used for growth, before Rowan Lamont and Andrew Demack ran through different models of operation that can be used depending on the rail trail project.

After lunch, Tiffany Stodart, Manager of Destination, Communication and Customer Experience at Tweed Shire Council, teamed up with Bicycle Queensland’s Mike Blewitt to look at how to market a rail trail. From understanding your product, your market, new target markets, the brand – and how to manage those and increase visitation. This included looking at events, media relationships and asset creation.

The two days combined for a thorough experience on building, managing and optimising rail trails and their potential to be major economic drivers in different parts of Queensland and Australia.

‘This Rail Trails and Tourism conference was a great success, and we are happy to have been able to partner with Somerset Regional Council to deliver this two day event,’ said Alton Twine, CEO of Bicycle Queensland. ‘Many of us already know the benefits of rail trails, and how they contribute to the economic health of a region, alongside the social, mental and physical health of the communities involved – while also getting more people out on bikes!’

‘Importantly, we are now able to develop a tool kit to guide regions on how to take a rail trail from an available corridor through to a finished tourism offering, and we are hard at work creating a guide that will be available for any community groups who are ready to tackle a rail trail project.’