THE State Government’s visitor strategy for the Limestone Coast has received a glowing endorsement from tourism and industry leaders who have welcomed opportunities to grow the region’s economy by $136m by 2020.
Mount Gambier Chamber of Commerce presidnet Lynette Martin OAM and Tourism Mount Gambier chair Kent Comley praised the SA Regional Visitor Strategy for identifying overnight visitor stays as a priority focus for the Limestone Coast.
Mr Comley was pleased the government-backed document supported growth in international and domestic overnight visitors given the peak tourism industry group’s current focus on the same market.
“It is great to see a regional visitor strategy with a focus on the regions and the tourism market and we are pleased the strategy is in line with the strategy of Tourism Mount Gambier,” he said.
“The identification of key markets and increased investment in digital promotion and social networks is something we support.
“The problem Mount Gambier has had as a destination is that we are often a stop-off point along the Melbourne to Adelaide touring route.
“If we can show visitors all the great things on offer, they will stay an extra night exploring the sights.”
Mr Comley said the industry group was focusing on a range of digital initiatives, including the multi-platform Discover Mount Gambier venture, aimed at encouraging day trippers to extend their visit.
“Mount Gambier is known, but we are competing with other destinations and have to be more active in the marketplace,” he said.
“After establishing our social media, we have had more than one million views within 12 months and a lot of these are from overseas.
“We posted about the ghost mushrooms and that had more than 100,000 views and there were around 250 comments from people saying ‘we have to go there’.
“There are a lot of initiatives, but it is just a case of keeping your name out there.”
With one in 18 Limestone Coast jobs supported by the tourism industry, Ms Martin said increased visitation and expenditure would further boost the 2000 direct and 800 indirect jobs sustained by the industry.
“The job creation that would be brought about would be significant and have a number of flow-on effects,” she said.
“When more people are employed they spend more money, so by providing additional employment opportunities in the region our economy would grow.
“More visitors not only provides the potential for established businesses to expand, it also supports the creation of new businesses to provide additional tourism experiences.”
Ms Martin said the forecast visitor spend increase from $321m to $457m by 2020 was indicative of the value of the tourist economy in the Limestone Coast.
“It is very positive news for the Limestone Coast to have a potential growth in visitation spend to that amount,” she said.
“It really illustrates the value of having people stay longer in the region.
“Tourism is a big economic driver for us and with visitor spend predicted to reach those levels, it is great news for Mount Gambier’s future.”
