'Give Gympie a hand up'

A SERIES of free TV commercials to promote the Gympie region have started airing on the Seven Network.

Gympie Cooloola Tourism marketing manager Prue Carey, said Channel 7 approached the organisation and offered up to $75,000 of free advertising.

The free ads were offered to help the region bounce back after the February and March floods.

Footage of the region's best places to visit, including dolphin feeding at Tin Can Bay and Mary St in Gympie, was sent to the television station and they have created the short adverts to tell everyone Gympie is open for business.

Ms Carey said the idea was to tell people to come and visit the Gympie region.

"We bounce back pretty quickly after a flood," she said.

Ms Carey hoped the tourism campaign would help struggling businesses.

"I think it creates awareness of our region and lets people know we're back on our feet. The slogan of the ads is 'we don't need a handout, we need a hand up'."

Ms Carey said it was a call to action for people in the Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba regions and from Bundaberg down to the Gold Coast.