A LOCAL tourism leader has urged visitors to “come and see the Riverland”, as the region’s tourism industry plots its course for the next decade.
New Destination Riverland general manager Ben Patten said current interstate border restrictions had “funnelled” new visitors to the region, creating new “advocates” for the Riverland across South Australia.
“I spoke to a houseboat operator the other day and they said about 70 per cent of their customers at the moment are people who have never been to the Riverland before,” he said.
“My message to South Australians is come and have a look at it, everyone else is.
“Go home and tell everyone about it and post it on social media, and tag Destination Riverland.”
Mr Patten said locals would also play an important role in ensuring visitors continue to visit the region once interstate travel opportunities become available.
“When people come, we want locals to be proud of what the Riverland is as well, and I say that not being a local but being a destination marketer,” he said.
“We need our own communities spruiking the tourism experience of the Riverland alongside how great of a place it is to live. Collaboration is the key for this.”
Destination Riverland, in conjunction with the Mid Murray, Berri Barmera, Loxton Waikerie and Renmark Paringa councils and industry stakeholders, released a draft of the Riverland Tourism Plan 2030 earlier this month, laying out a “shared vision” for the growth of the local tourism sector.
“It highlights in the boldest possible terms the opportunities for the visitor economy over the next 10 years,” Mr Patten said.
“Over the last six years, the visitor economy grew from about $140 million to about $180 million. The opportunity analysis and other factors have indicated that the target we should be striving for is over $300 million by 2030.
“We’re talking about a massive opportunity that will have a flow-on effect for jobs and opportunities for locals, population growth, town and region vibrancy, and all of those good things that council and obviously residents want.”
Mr Patten said it was important for the Riverland to “understand our narrative and understand what we’re selling”.
“The river is the experience that ties the region together,” he said.
“In my personal view, the key element besides the river is food and wine. The Riverland really is the food and wine bowl of South Australia, and really harnessing that is going to be very important and then working that into a consistent narrative.
“The third piece is nature-based tourism including walking trails… and having a historical or artistic element to some of the towns is important as well.”
Mr Patten said he was “cautious” about tourist numbers in the near future as borders begin to open, and that operators needed to continue to push their brand.
“If all the domestic borders are open, a lot of South Australians are going to want to go interstate for their holidays, so we’ll need to do a really smart campaign to select interstate markets try and make sure that the momentum continues,” he said.
“The operators and communities are doing their job by creating a great experience that they talk about when they go home, but we can’t be complacent and just think it’s going to happen again because this is a very unusual set of circumstances.”
With the draft plan open for community consultation, Mr Patten said there was an “air of excitement” about the direction of the Riverland tourism industry.
“The Riverland visitor economy has done fairly well recently with South Australians coming out and supporting the region and spending but there are long-term challenges and competition that we need to prepare for,” he said.
“Everyone seems to be fairly up-beat and forward-thinking and we’re looking forward to everyone getting involved and supporting it.”
Community consultation on the plan is open until Friday, September 18.
To read the Riverland Tourism Plan 2030 draft and provide feedback via an online survey, visit (www.destinationriverland.org.au/riverland-tourism-plan).