Industry led tourism body

The new body will aim to broaden the base of tourism activities, create one brand for tourism to Orange and focus on increased visitation.

Orange Mayor John Davis OAM said there had been great success in attracting visitors to the region on the back of a thriving food and wine sector.

“But we are at a crossroads. Attracting tourists is a very competitive area. If we just do what we have always done we will be standing still. Food and wine will continue to be the backbone but there are other opportunities in sporting tourism such as mountain biking or highlighting the natural beauty of the region,” Cr Davis said.

“Tourism adds more than $190 million to the Orange region economy every year and as

with most things there is room for improvement and growth.

"Orange has an enviable reputation from how it has been marketed over the last 20 years and we want to make sure we can still make that claim in 20 years time.”

At the recent tourism workshops hosted by Council and attended by more than 100 tourism sector representatives there was support for a broad based industry led tourism entity.

The need to explore more diversity in tourism targeting was another key message to come from the workshops.

Last week Council resolved to establish a transition board.

“The transition board is the first step to investigating a new entity. There is a lot of work to be done and a lot of moving parts but this is a great opportunity for a fresh start,” Cr Davis said.

The transition board will be tasked to:

• Prepare the structure the new entity would operate under

• Develop a draft strategic plan

• Develop a draft operational plan

• Design the steps to implement the new industry led tourism entity

A further report will come back to Council to consider the transition board structure.Brand Orange and other stakeholders including Blayney and Cabonne councils will be part of the process.

Council will continue to fund tourism activities through the transition board and once the new entity is created.