The new Gidji café supported by $490,000 from the Growing Indigenous Tourism Fund has opened at the world-famous Mon Repos Turtle Centre in a boost for the Palaszczuk Government’s Covid-19 Economic Recovery Plan.
Member for Bundaberg Tom Smith said the Mon Repos Turtle Centre was an icon of Southern Great Barrier Reef Tourism.
“The famous turtle season brings more than 12,000 tourists to the region and we’re keen to see that grow for our visitor economy,” Mr Smith said.
“That’s why the Palaszczuk Government has helped out with funding to build the Gidji Café and the Burnett Heads commercial kitchen and training facility to keep the café stocked with great locally sourced and produced refreshments.
“Not only are we providing a service for visitors to Mon Repos, the Palaszczuk Government is also skilling the region’s young Indigenous workers to find jobs and keep Southern Great Barrier Reef tourism growing for our Covid-19 Economic Recovery Plan.”
Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said although the turtle season was only just beginning, the Mon Repos Turtle Centre was popular all year-round.
“There’s significant interest in the Mon Repos turtle nesting site with more than 30,000 visitors dropping into the Mon Repos Turtle Centre each year, even outside of the official turtle nesting season,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“It’s a good location for the new Gidji Café, supported by the Burnett Heads commercial kitchen and training facility for young Indigenous workers.
“We know there’s a growing tourist appetite for genuine cultural experiences and that’s why the Palaszczuk Government extended the Queensland Year of Indigenous Tourism.
“As we emerge from the pandemic and we’re able to welcome back international visitors safely, we’re expecting to see a resurgence of overseas interest in Queensland cultural tourism ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
The Southern Great Barrier Reef region’s 10-day Milbi Festival is a celebration of First Nations’ culture, local heritage, environment and turtles (Milbi).
“Yesterday’s closing event of the Milbi Festival marks the official start of the turtle season at Mos Repos when loggerheads begin to heave up the beach to lay their eggs, which generally hatch from January to March,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
“It’s the start of a new visitor season for Bundaberg tourism and the first for the Indigenous operators of the Gidji Café at the Mon Repos Turtle Centre and the Burnett Heads kitchen.”
