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More and more people are taking their holiday in places close to large-scale industrial sites so that they can learn as they relax.

Labelled hard hat tourism, the trend is a growing one in many areas, most notably in Queensland, Australia, reports the Australian Associated Press.

Officials in the Queensland city of Gladstone say that greater numbers of people are taking advantage of free daily tours of the multi-billion-dollar plants and factories in the region.

Apparently one of the most popular activities, up there with the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and feeding time for the alligators at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, is the arrival of container ships bringing coal to a giant power station.

The 2007 tourist season has just begun for Gladstone and authorities are convinced that this year will be as fruitful as last, when 120 people were taking advantage of the tours every week.

'Our predominate market is the grey nomad touring market, followed by international tourists typically on trade missions,' said Tracey Lenz from Gladstone Area Promotion and Development.

'The tours are also popular for school groups and the local population utilises the tours especially during school holidays to show visiting friends and relatives where they work or the sights of our city.'

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