Councillor Jess Jennings wants tourism forum for Bathurst

Councillor Jess Jennings will raise the item as a notice of motion at tonight’s meeting of Bathurst Regional Council.

It will be Cr Jennings’ third notice of motion in just four monthly meetings, but he cannot be criticised this time for bringing state and federal issues into the local chamber.

Previous notices of motion calling for council to declare Bathurst a coal seam gas-free area and to restate its support for the Racial Discrimination Act put Cr Jennings at odds with some of his colleagues who believed it was inappropriate, or ineffective, for council to debate such issues.

But tonight Cr Jennings will seek to take the first step towards a new era of co-operation between council and local tourism operators to better promote the region.

His vision is for up to 12 seats on the stakeholder group, comprising representatives from council and tourism industries.

“The Tourism Stakeholder’s Reference Group should be comprised of approximately six-12 seats occupied by those people who best represent our tourism sectors, plus council holding approximately three seats,” the notice states.

“The tourism sectors that should be represented include (but not limited to) Bathurst Regional Vignerons Associat- ion, local accommodation, eateries and cafes, events, rural villages, heritage, arts and culture sector and tourism operators in general.”

Cr Jennings wants to see the new group hold its first meeting no later than November 30, and within one month of the release of council’s final destination management plan.

He says the group should operate  throughout the bicen- tenary year in 2015, meeting once every two months.

“In broad terms, the agenda, purpose and desired outcomes of this group will be to advance public and private tourism endeavours that enhance the local economy and destination Bathurst,” the motion states.