Regional communities

Insight into regional economies

Research Papers/Webinars

Apr
2022

Agriculture and Tourism - regional economic contributions and links: A case study of the wine and tourism industries in the Granite Belt region

This project had three principal aims. The main aim was to provide a better understanding of the potential for regional industry diversification by taking a close look at economic and other links between two rural/regional industries, in this case agriculture and tourism. To this end a case study of Queensland’s Granite Belt (GB) region wine and tourism industries was selected as this is a relatively mature example of an agritourism setting. Secondly the project aimed to develop and pilot a data collection methodology for wine producers, that would provide sufficient data for this study but also provide a format for future data collection and analysis on an ongoing basis, not only for wine producers but also adaptable to use for other small regional agricultural industries, particularly those with tourism links. Thirdly, the project aimed to provide a better understanding of regional tourism attraction clusters by exploring the interactions between wine, national park, and other attractions in providing a ‘critical mass’ of attractions for tourists.

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Nov
2021

Examining Innovative Policies to Sustain Environmental Offsets in Rural Communities

Examining Innovative Policies to Sustain Environmental Offsets in Rural Communities: An Analysis of Granite Belt Wine Growers

June 2021

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Oct
2021

Nov 2021 - Changing rural economies

Register here for our next event:
Webinar #2: Changing Rural Economies

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Jun
2020

2020 Webinar Production Economics – Modelling production at the enterprise level

Production Economics – Modelling production at the enterprise level

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Apr
2020

Varying impacts of Covid-19 across Queensland Regions

Covid-19 may be truly the wind that blows no good for any of Australia’s regions. Apart from the loss of human life and adverse health and social impacts, all regions have negative economic consequences. The speed and depth of the impacts, and the ongoing government responses to them, are unprecedented. Yet the impacts and outlooks vary across regions, as I discuss here with particular reference to the Queensland economy.
The economic impacts are occurring through several forces, including:
• Direct effects of government controls, which are limiting business operations
• Reductions in customer demand
• Flow-on effects through the economy.
There are some sectors most affected by these pressures:
• The direct effects of government controls are particularly impacting on Tourism, Hospitality, Arts & Entertainment, and Personal Services sectors. These are sectors requiring substantial travel and interpersonal contact, often involving small businesses.
• Reductions in customer demand are immediately impacting on Hospitality, Arts & Entertainment, Personal Services, and most Retail sectors. There are some increases in demand for supermarkets and liquor stores.
• Flow on effects into other sectors of the economy are beginning. For example, some health services are impacted by both shortages in supplies and reductions in demand, while reduced mobility and reductions in spending are reducing activity across the retail and services sectors.
• There are also some impacts on supply chains across all major sectors. However, most businesses are adapting to shortages in inputs rather than being forced to close.

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