The New Year at Travel Counsellors started with a bang, well a fizz at least (!) with a visit from the Queensland Tourist Board. As all our agents are home based, TV (we call it TCTV) is an essential part of how we communicate. We have our own TV studio at our head offices in Bolton and broadcast daily to our global network of Travel Counsellors. It’s a great way to let everyone know about the latest developments both internally and within the tourism industry as a whole. And when tourist boards are able to pop in, it’s extra special. What drives everyone at Travel Counsellors is their passion for travel, so learning more about holiday destinations is a topic we never tire of!

Normally however, tourist delegations are limited to one or two people so when over a dozen Queenslanders turned up it was quite an event for our studio to cope with! Our studio manager, Alex, rose admirably to the challenge despite the numerous microphone changes needed throughout the show each time another guest joined the set. Tourism Queensland were admirably prepared however. Many of the delegation were attired in logo-ed t-shirts promoting their destination and they all arrived an hour early for a full “dress rehearsal” before entering the set. Their slick script gave each of their representatives a strictly timed 90 second slot. One of their delegation hung on the sidelines miming ‘cut’ in a Hollywood style if anyone overran.

Although with so much to impart, they could be forgiven for waxing lyrical (in our view at least!); this Australian state is packed with contrasts. Seven times larger than the UK, it boasts world famous beaches, the oldest rainforest in the world and the legendary Great Barrier Reef. Home to both the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, there’s plenty of that idyllic coastal living the Aussies are renowned for in a place that can promise around 300 days of sunshine a year. Unsurprising, throughout the state there are wonderful wildlife encounters to be had; from snorkelling to spotting a myriad of tropical fish, turtles and dugongs to whale watching and much more!

There’s city living, too, in Brisbane which also boasts its own natural wonders. Just 25kms from the city, the second and third largest sand islands in the world, Moreton and Stradbroke Islands, offer sand tobogganing, diving and surfing. Plus limpid lagoons where you can even hand feed dolphins.

Or you could get away from it all with a trip out the Whitsundays. A string of 74 islands set amongst the coral reefs and crystalline waters of the Great Barrier Reef, a highlight is Heart Reef. You know, the picture of the island shaped like a heart, it actually does exist! Many of these are actually uninhabited such as Whitsunday Island, where you’ll find one of the best beaches in the world a 7km stretch of pristine white powder sands at Whitehaven Beach. Others are home to luxurious private island resorts such as Hayman Island, a long standing member of The Leading Hotels of the World chain. And the Whitsundays is not the only place you’ll find luxurious hotels.

Aside from its jaw dropping beaches, the Gold Coast has another claim to fame in the form of the Palazzo Versace hotel. Where the “I’m a celebrity…” evictees get to hang out a stay here is certainly worth getting voted off for!

The state is so vast that at its northerly tip you reach the tropics. The only area on earth where two World Heritage Areas meet in the form of the world’s most ancient rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef amazing wildlife adventures abound in Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef region! Not forgetting the state’s interior of course, where intrepid Gap Year students get to find out about a real day’s work in the form of a stint of work experience on an outback farm. Parents of teenagers take note….

We might not have booked our air tickets yet, but Queensland is definitely at the top of our New Year’s wishlist!