Closer than you think at being tourism hub
The “closer than you think” tag line was the underlying theme at a function in Melbourne highlighting the shire’s natural attractions, tourism features including rural accommodation, food and wineries, the charms of smaller towns and major events staged throughout the year.
The aim of the campaign is to boost awareness that the area can be reached from Melbourne in just over an hour making it ideal for day trips and weekend visits.
Mayor Mikaela Power and the shire’s executive manager communications and economic development Mark Kestigian outlined many of the reasons why Baw Baw is a good place to visit and said afterwards they believed the initiative to take the campaign to the city would provide positive benefits.
Guests at the function included State Minister Martin Pakula whose portfolios include tourism, sport and major events, representatives of state and regional tourism organisations, event management, hospitality service providers and several national businesses.
Also spruiking the assets of the shire, formally and informally in “chats” during the evening, were Melbourne Food and Wine Festival’s Liz Hamilton which, for the first time is including a rural area – Jindivick – for a “village takeover” on March 16 as major component of the festival, and Andrew McIntosh who travelled from Sydney to tell guests about the World Jousting Championships and medieval village that will be at Larder Park in June.
Shire ambassador and former AFL star Robert Murphy and media proprietor and personality Craig Hutchison spoke of fond memories of growing up in Warragul and why they remain attached to the area and regularly visit.
A number of tourism and event focussed businesses from Baw Baw also attended to help “spread the word”.
Mr Kestigian said the reason for staging last week’s promotion in Melbourne grew from questioning several hundred city people about the shire.
Many had little knowledge, thought the area was about three to four hours travel away or somewhere near Ballarat, he said.
While the function was primarily to promote the shire’s tourism attractions it was also used by councillors and officers to point to recent business, employment and population growth, lifestyle benefits and the affordability of housing and commercial and industrial premises compared to the metropolitan area.