THERE is a lot to like about Councillor Jess Jennings’ plan to establish a new stakeholder group to help co-ordinate local tourism.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
For years local tourism operators have been calling for Bathurst Regional Council to take a more central role in building local tourism, beyond the services of the Bathurst Visitor Information Centre.
They particularly want to see a single person charged with promoting local food and wine, similar to successful models already running in Mudgee and Orange.
And while Cr Jennings’ plan does not go as far as employing someone in that role, it looks a good first step towards that ultimate goal.
Cr Jennings wants to bring together key tourism stakeholders – along with three council representatives, including the mayor – to improve communication in the local tourism sector.
He has identified a number of areas to focus on, including product development, branding, events and networking.
What is really needed, though, is a real injection of energy into the sector.
For too long, local producers have been trying to promote themselves and their region on top of regular work.
But promotion is a specialised field far removed from the skills associated with cooking a great meal, producing a quality bottle of wine or operating a successful bed and breakfast.
And local producers operating in isolation cannot hope to create the sort of noise necessary to sell our region to people living in Sydney and beyond.
So it’s to be hoped that councillors support tonight’s notice of motion, but no-one can be allowed to think the job will then be done.
Rather, this should be seen as the beginning of something incredible.