Long-serving Winton Shire Councillor and Mayor Graham 'Butch' Lenton has been honoured posthumously at the opening of the 'Butch Lenton Way' road in Winton.
The road connects to the Australian Age of Dinosaurs, a popular tourist attraction Councillor Lenton showed relentless support for towards during his time as mayor.
His wife Ros Lenton said while it has been emotional to see the road named after him, she was happy to accept the honour on his behalf.
"He probably wouldn't have wanted the honour because he wouldn't have thought he deserved it," she said.
"But people just appreciated what he did and it's a very proud moment."
His daughter Carly Cox said her father, who died in October 2017 after a two-year battle with cancer, loved Winton and wanted to see it grow.
"He loved the Age of Dinosaurs and used to come out all the time and check the road even before it was sealed, so it's very fitting," she said.
"I think he would have been overwhelmed, it's really appreciated by the whole family."
Outback tourism industry booming
Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey, who opened the road, said Councillor Lenton played a significant role in diversifying Winton's economy.
"I remember being out here two years ago with Butch and he showed me that [Winton is] a jewel of the outback," he said.
"He showed us why we should have a special program so that we can fund infrastructure related to tourism sites and icons and make them easier to access so we can get more people out here."
New data from Tourism Research Australia for 2016-2017 showed an 8.8 per cent growth in the number of people employed in tourism in the outback and a 9.5 per cent growth in gross regional product.
Tourism Minister Kate Jones said it's good to see western Queensland diversifying its economy.
"It's really exciting because I know talking to mayors in western Queensland that they know to diversify their economy," she said.
"They've really focused on tourism and understand that western Queensland and the outback is a great offering.
"Western Queensland is some of the strongest growth we've seen anywhere in the state."
More visitors to the region
Australian Age of Dinosaurs founder David Elliott said he has seen a boom in tourists to the attraction this year.
"We've broken our record with 476 people for the day," he explained.
"They're small venues and we've got a guided tour through them all with a maximum of 30," he said.
"We're trying to fit 45 people on a tour and it's just been so busy, but it's great.
"In the middle of school holidays everyone hits at once.
"Last time it took about three days for us to get record numbers so who knows what will happen in the next couple of days."
