The Toowoomba Region has 400,000 reasons to smile with that many people having laid eyes on the 'Carnival of Flowers' display at Singapore's Gardens by the Bay attraction which concluded last month.
The Flower Dome played host to a special 'Carnival of Flowers' display from 23 September to 17 November with 399,919 visitors to the attraction during that time which also coincided with the 75th anniversary of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers.
A report was presented at this week's Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) Economic Development Committee Meeting which explored outcomes and potential future benefits for the Toowoomba Region as a result of the Gardens by the Bay display and trade delegation.
Toowoomba Region Mayor Geoff McDonald said the result of 400,000 visitors, coupled with the delegation of business and tourism leaders from across the region who visited Singapore for the grand opening of the display, would mean long-term economic benefits for the Toowoomba Region.
"Gardens by the Bay is one of the world's leading horticultural attractions, so it was a very special occasion to have the Toowoomba Region featured for eight weeks in the Flower Dome with the 'Carnival of Flowers' display.
"I thank the Gardens by the Bay organisation for their continued partnership with us, their kind hospitality for the grand opening of the display and their ongoing commitment to collaborate with our region as the Garden Region of Australia," Mayor McDonald said.
"It was also important we leveraged this special opportunity as much as possible and that's why we worked with Queensland Country Tourism and Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise to lead a delegation of 33 business and tourism leaders from our region to Singapore to coincide with the display.
"The market insights tour resulted in the exploration of new commercial opportunities, insights into Singapore's export supply chain and opportunities in food security and plant-based products while the tourism delegation has seen strengthened industry connections, insights into international trade and promotion of the Toowoomba Region into Singapore as a viable tourism destination for inbound visitation," he said.
"The Gardens by the Bay display and market sounding tour has given our region the opportunity to explore future trade missions, ongoing business profiling in Singapore and to progress discussions between Singapore and Toowoomba on enhanced logistics and connectivity.
"There's no doubt our region was put on the world map thanks to the great success of the 'Carnival of Flowers' Gardens by the Bay display and I thank everyone who worked hard behind the scenes to make it a reality," Mayor McDonald said.
