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Omeo’s Vision For The FutureThe 2003 bushfires hit the East Gippsland township of Omeo very hard, and the tight-knit community has battled valiantly to get back on its feet. By East Gippsland Shire Council - 26th July 2004 - Back to News This week a new chapter in the recovery process was opened with the launch of an exciting new tourism vision for the town - the Omeo Destination Plan.
The State Government provided $20,000 to the Omeo Region Business and Tourism Association from the $2 million Bushfire Recovery package to develop the plan and pay for associated marketing.
A quarter of the money was spent on the plan development and the remainder will be used for marketing.
Tourism Minister John Pandazopolous launched the plan in Omeo last Thursday.
Mr Pandazopolous said the plan would put the region on track for greater tourism success.
"Omeo has lots of potential. Apart from touring, the Omeo region has many fantastic attributes including its colourful heritage, especially buildings and the legacy of the mountain cattlemen," Mr Pandazopolous said.
"The region is close to ski fields and national parks, offering fishing spots and adventure experiences, which is a growing segment for Victoria, worth more than $2 billion to the State," Mr Pandazopoulos said.
East Gippsland Mayor Harvey Bates congratulated the Omeo Region Business and Tourism Association on developing such an excellent tourism business plan.
Cr Bates said the Shire was delighted to help with the initial funding application and in the early stages of the plan’s development.
"We worked with Omeo BTA early on to get it the plan off the ground and the community then took hold of the project and ran with it - full credit must go to the Association and the Omeo community," Cr Bates said.
"They have been able to use the money wisely to develop and plan the promotion of the region and work with partners to achieve greater success for all businesses in Omeo.
"The plan is a great achievement; it identifies Omeo’s strengths and weaknesses and we believe it will carry the businesses of Omeo into the future.
"The Omeo Region BTA stands out in East Gippsland as one that is willing to look strategically at their town and work together and with partners to achieve their goals."
Key points from the Omeo Destination Plan include:
- Preserving the town’s heritage character and improving the streetscapes to make them more visitor friendly.
- Developing training packages for tourism operators, including customer service training and small business needs analysis.
- Upgrading the website omeoregion.com.au and increasing links with other websites such as visitvictoria.com
- Ensuring key roads are signposted, upgraded and sealed.
- And informing the community of the value of tourism
The plan cost $5000 and the remaining $15,000 from the funding package provided to Omeo will be used for a range of marketing initiatives in the coming months, including developing an Omeo region logo, developing promotional material, a calendar of events, and undertaking visitor surveys.
The plan also outlines proposals for linking promotion of Omeo and surrounds with the Great Alpine Road and upgrading touring routes in the region.
Tourism is worth $3.5 billion to the regional Victorian economy and is responsible for 60,000 regional jobs.
For further information contact Cr Bates on 5153 9500
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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