It’s a volunteer position with its own rewards, and a chance to ‘give back’ to the region you love.
Applicants must have a passion for the Sunshine Coast and be friendly, enthusiastic and keen to share tips to help everyone make the most of their leisure time.
That’s all you need to join the 130 tourism ambassadors already volunteering at the three Visitor Information Centres (VICs) at Glass House Mountains, Montville and Sunshine Coast Airport.
A call-out for more helpers was recently posted on professional networking platform LinkedIn.
A Visit Sunshine Coast spokesperson said shifts were typically half a day and available on weekdays or weekends, but very flexible.
Training and a uniform are provided. While local knowledge is preferred, it is not essential.
Volunteers come from a varied range of backgrounds and careers, including nurses, teachers and former Australian Defence Force personnel, as well as tourism industry roles such as flight attendants.
Because first impressions count, these dedicated tourism ambassadors play an important role as often the first point of contact in making visitors feel welcome and having a positive experience in the region.
That’s why they also will be found greeting cruise ship passengers on their arrival in Mooloolaba and at major events – from the Mooloolaba Triathlon to the Queensland Garden Expo in Nambour.
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One recent ‘recruit’, Elaine Wells, 72, is a long-time hinterland resident and former general and aged care nurse who found retirement wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
On Tuesday afternoons, you’ll find Elaine at the Montville VIC as she relishes her second year in the role.
“I love it. Absolutely love it,” she gushed.
“You meet different people – international, local and interstate.
“They’re just lovely people and they’ve all got a story to tell.
“They all want to find out where to go – like waterfalls, walks, places of interest, trips around the place, dining.
“We do famils as well. That’s where Visit Sunshine Coast will take us to a certain venue or attraction and we learn about what they have got to offer.
“Then when someone comes in (to the VIC), we can impart our knowledge to them.”
In fact, being involved on the ‘frontline’ of tourism in the region has been quite an education.
“There’s a lot of places I didn’t even know existed and I’ve lived here 52 years,” Elaine confessed.
“I was born in Gympie, bred in Cooroy. I got married in ’71 and I’ve been in West Woombye in the same place for the last 52 years.
“We were a horticultural farm. We did about 28 years growing strawberries and avocados, custard apples, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons – all those sorts of things.
“I wanted to meet people and just impart some of the knowledge that I had on the Sunshine Coast – up around the hinterland, in particular.
“It is good to give back to the community.”
The camaraderie and relaxed, casual atmosphere in the VICs is evident, with visitors happy to be on holidays or taking a break and seeking special experiences in our tourism hub.
Cathy Daveson was the friendly face Elaine found when she wandered into the Montville VIC to ask about volunteering.
Their paths had crossed years earlier, as Cathy was a personal carer at Sundale in Nambour and had lived in various towns in the hinterland “for the last 60-something years”.
About eight years ago, Cathy started volunteering for the VIC once a month on weekends when she was needed.
Once she finished up at Sundale, Cathy put her hand up to volunteer at the VIC every second Tuesday.
But the ambassador role is something that gets in your blood. It wasn’t long before she was working every Tuesday, once an opening became available.
“I love going up there and just chatting to people that are coming up and trying to find out where they can go on the walks, especially,” said Cathy, who grew up on a Blackall Range Road dairy farm in Woombye.
“I like going around and trying out all the walks – the short walks, not the great big 60km ones.
“It’s really good to do that. Then you know exactly when someone asks about the walks how far it is or how steep it is, how many steps and so on.”
As well as locals, Cathy had noticed accents from New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom in the past few months – an indication that the Sunshine Coast is paramount in international visitors’ minds as the global tourism industry recovers from the pandemic.
“We even had someone from Turkey the other day,” she said.
“They’ve been travelling around the world with two kids.”
Visitors appreciate tapping into local knowledge to make the most of their stay.
“They love doing the walks and looking around the little towns,” Cathy said.
“Montville is that type of town that you can walk up and down (Main Street) fairly easily in half an hour or so.
“Then they like going to Maleny and Mary Cairncross (Scenic Reserve) because that’s a good thing you can get to with the kids.”
Life in the VICs, it seems, is never dull.
Elaine has been asked about alternate routes downhill when an out-of-date GPS sent an unsuspecting carload of tourists up the landslide-prone old Montville-Palmwoods Road to the Blackall Range.
And occasionally one question will stump everyone.
“We’ve had people asking where they can get a lovely view, have a glass of wine and lunch on a very cloudy, overcast day … when you can’t see across the other side of the road (for fog, rain or low cloud on the Blackall Range),” Elaine laughed.
So, what is the most-asked question from visitors?
Both women agree, answering as quick as a lightning bolt beside One Tree Hill in a summer storm …
“Where’s the nearest toilets?”
Find out more and express an interest in the volunteer ambassador role by calling 0458 788 285 or emailing Beth.Mahoney@visitsunshinecoast.com.
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via: news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
