Apersonal invitation to tour the city of Mount Gambier will be delivered to South Australia’s new tourism chief executive by Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell, who is determined to promote a stronger focus on the Blue Lake city’s tourism assets.
“I have always said we live in one of the best cities in the world and it’s time for Mount Gambier to be recognised nationally and internationally as a prime visitor destination,” Mr Bell said.
“Ahead of the busy summer holiday period, our city needs to maximise its opportunities and stand out from the crowd. At the moment, we’re lacking a strong brand and linkages between those paid tourism experiences.
“We have got these incredible natural assets in our Crater Lakes and sinkholes and we need to package and market those experiences with the help of the South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) to encourage visitors to stay longer in our city and wider region.”
With new SATC chief executive Emma Terry starting in January, Mr Bell said he would invite the newly minted chief to tour Mount Gambier and the wider Limestone Coast region as one of her first regional engagements.
“Ms Terry has come from Tourism Tasmania, which has a very strong brand, long-running events such as Dark Mofo and also, a similar nature-based tourism outlook and climate to Mount Gambier,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to showing her our city and hearing her thoughts on how we can progress and grow our visitor economy and I’ll also be asking that our city gets a greater slice of the SATC’s marketing budget.”
With the return of international travel, Mr Bell said the time was right to promote the city on the national and international tourism scene.
Mr Bell said the recent changeover of city growth and tourism roles through the Mount Gambier City Council and Limestone Coast Local Government Association would inject fresh ideas into the city’s tourism outlook.
“We have an opportunity to hit the ground running and it will take all hands on deck, from the operators working on the ground right up to the chief executive of our state’s tourism body,” he said.
“In my Future Mount Gambier and Districts plan, I proposed $6m over the next four years to invest in product and experience development for the city, including encouraging entrepreneurial endeavours and cultural tourism opportunities and partnerships.
“I believe event tourism has tremendous potential as we already have a number of established events, such as Legend of the Lakes, Generations in Jazz, the Medieval Festival, bringing those visitors to our city however there’s always room for more growth.”
