ONE of the biggest champions of Mackay and Whitsunday tourism lives in a little rural town in Victoria between Shepparton and Bendigo called Rushworth.

Auto glazier Ben Norris grew up in Mackay but moved to Victoria about two years ago.

He still visits his home town about once a year, but this year he brought his girlfriend and took a video and a few photos back with him to show his friends and family what life was like in North Queensland.

His three-minute video starts with a quick flight, and highlights some of the most beautiful places in the region, including Whitehaven Beach, Dingo Beach and Cedar Creek Falls.

He is one of the true champions of the region.

"I have been up there (Whitsunday) heaps of times. I was just a tour guide for my girlfriend (Jessica Campbell)," he said.

"It's (Dingo Beach) such a nice spot - you have the pub there right on the beach and then on the way back you stop at Cedar Creek Falls," he said.

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"I just love it up there and I'm really proud that I come from the Mackay and Whitsunday region."

Mr Norris ended up spending so much time capturing his romantic getaway with his partner that he had about 475 videos and photos from the trip.

"A lot of my friends (in Victoria) know about the Whitsundays. But I think they put it into the 'too hard' basket to do it," he said.

"So I showed them how easy it is - just jump on a plane."

It was an easy and relaxing holiday, he said, despite a hiccup with the original plan.

Initially he booked a yacht to take his partner on a romantic trip to Whitehaven Beach.

"I rang a day before we were meant to go on the sail boat and was told it was still in dry dock being repaired after being damaged by (cyclone) Debbie," he said.

"The company refunded our money straight away. I went to another tourist shop and they booked me in for another cruise."

He said the week in Airlie had felt like a day.

And the region might not have to wait for his annual holiday to get him back next year. He said his girlfriend already wanted to come back --- soon.

More come to Mackay and they're spending

THERE has been record growth in domestic tourism numbers for the Mackay region with double digit rises across all visitor types in the last 12 months.

A record 883,000 visitors for the year ending June 2017 saw an increase of 16% for the past 12 months.

These statistics were made up of 445,000 business visitors (increase of 23.7%), 196,000 holiday visitors (increase of 25.6%) and 190,000 Visiting Friends and Relative (VFR) visitors (increase of 13.4%).

Overnight expenditure increased 30%, while the average nights spent in the region also increased by 32%. Mackay Regional Council Mayor Greg Williamson said it was a milestone the community should be celebrating.

"The increase in both visitor numbers and expenditure is testament to the fact that Mackay is well and truly on the map for many travellers," he said.

Comfort Resort Blue Pacific owner Nick Uit Den Bogaard said the last few months have been "bloody beaut" for his business.

"The statistics are very much in line with what has been happening in our business.

"We've seen an increase each month on previous years and it's a good spread of corporate, leisure and international travellers; we have a lot of Germans coming through," Mr Uit Den Bogaard said.

Mackay Tourism's general manager Tas Webber said Mackay had been put on the bucket list.