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Gippsland unseen in new tourism campaignThe Member for Eastern Victoria, Philip Davis, has insisted the State Government take a second look at V/Line’s regional tourism promotion, See Things Differently, which has excluded Gippsland. By Kevin Balshaw - 24th November 2008 - Back to News The Member for Eastern Victoria, Philip Davis, has insisted the State Government take a second look at V/Line’s regional tourism promotion, See Things Differently, which has excluded Gippsland.
Mr Davis has asked Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky to instruct V/Line to incorporate Sale and Bairnsdale in the campaign as gateway destinations to the Gippsland Lakes, the Alps and the region’s coastal landscapes.
He told Parliament the minister was looking to utilise spare capacity on outbound and off-peak V/Line trains by encouraging Melbourne people to take train outings to country areas.
"But the Government has a limited view of country Victoria – in this case confining it to only the centres of Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Echuca," Mr Davis said.
"V/Line also sees things differently in that its web site indicates the new campaign is part of the Discover Victoria program, which includes Melbourne in addition to the other four centres.
"There is no focus in this campaign on Gippsland and East Gippsland. The reason could well be that the Government and V/Line do not want people to find out that the Gippsland trains to Sale and Bairnsdale have the worst punctuality record on any long distance line in the state, with more than a quarter of them arriving at least 11 minutes late."
Mr Davis said that by restricting the V/Line tourism campaign to the major regional centres and just one town on the Murray River, it was neglecting the significant nature-based tourism attractions on offer in Gippsland.
He said the Government had authorised V/Line to spend $1.3 million on advertising the See Things Differently campaign in Melbourne.
This would provide valuable exposure in the important Melbourne market for the selected centres, and it was unfortunate that a region as distinctive for its tourist appeal as Gippsland was missing out.
The minister has yet to respond to Mr Davis’ request.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: kevin.balshaw@parliament.vic.gov.au
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