Go Nagambie and Seymour Business & Tourism (SB&T) have submitted a proposal to the Victorian Government’s Review into Regional Tourism to grow local tourism and economic activity within a newly defined Goulburn River and Ranges region.
Chair of Go Nagambie Tim Goodacre and Chair of Seymour Business & Tourism Stuart Locke said the joint submission outlined a bold plan to establish a new Greater Melbourne Tourism Zone covering key townships and geographical attractions within a 90-minute plus by car and rail radius from Melbourne. The submission also urges the Government to formally recognise and support the Goulburn River and Ranges as a newly defined tourism destination within the proposed 90-minute ring concept.
“The future of our region is connected to Melbourne. The 90-minute ring positions the Goulburn River and Ranges being on Melbourne’s doorstep, as well as making townships within the area, like Seymour, Nagambie and other further afield places more appealing for lifestyle and investment opportunities,” they jointly said.
“The 90-minute ring is relevant in this Review given Melbourne is a huge hub for interstate and international visitors as well as Melbournians for day trips and overnight regional stays, with the Victorian capital set to become Australia’s largest city in coming years.
“We see this Review as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to genuinely transform tourism marketing and the visitor experience for our region and wider regional Victoria,” they said.
SB&T Chair, Stuart Locke, said that the marketing of the Goulburn River and Ranges as a visitor experience could be done better. “Unfortunately many of our local tourism assets are hidden away. This perceptual void is evidenced by search engine results, market research and limited reference to the area within Government promotional literature. Online visibility of these assets is also poor in many cases,” he said.
Go Nagambie Chair, Tim Goodacre, said that the submission outlined a new approach to tourism funding in regional Victoria. “What we are proposing is a model that moves the funding of tourism and investment activity away from a reliance on the various levels of government to a financial and in-kind partnership model between the private and government sectors. By securing community and business understanding, support and ownership of individual projects, we get better alignment, vastly superior results and greater accountability which then become attractive criteria for the allocation of future government funding,” he said. The Go Nagambie and SB&T submission outline nine recommendations incorporating:
Formally recognise the Goulburn River and Ranges as a newly identified sub-region within a proposed 90-minute ring of greater Melbourne
• Reduce Victoria’s regional tourism areas (from 11 down to around 5 ‘Zones’)
• Goulburn River and Ranges becomes part of a Greater Melbourne Tourism Zone
New roles and responsibilities for regional tourism boards including removal of destination marketing, with defined sub-regions having a direct line to Visit Victoria
• A Victorian Regional Destination Management and Marketing Plan and Charter
• Work locally with relevant Government agencies to bring to potential more luxury accommodation concepts adjacent to the Goulburn River and Nagambie Lakes
• Oppose the re-establishment of Goulburn Valley River Tourism
• Fund a pilot of the ‘Go Nagambie’ model for marketing new sub-regions in Victoria
• Visitor Information Centres, like the established model in Nagambie, re-modelled as a joint collaboration between local government and community based tourism bodies.
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