FORMER deputy Prime Minister, trade minister and until recently, chair of tourism Australia Tim Fischer has shared his views on tourism development on the Myall Coast.
He addressed 90 guests at a luncheon at the Hawks Nest Golf Club on Monday, August 27.
The Myall Waterways Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, Probus, the VIEW Club, the Rotary Club and the Tea Gardens CTC hosted the luncheon.
Mr Fischer began by applauding the chamber's move towards using the Myall Coast as a destination brand to market the area more distinctly.
He then coined a new slogan for the campaign, My-we have it-All.
He spoke briefly about the opportunity that events such as APEC represent for regional communities and suggested that the most successful strategy is to offer significant incentives, such as stay six nights, get the seventh free.
Mr Fischer described the three main characteristics of communities that have excelled at capturing the tourism dollar.
Firstly, he believes good local leadership is required and cited the example of Tom O'Toole, the Beechworth Baker, who led the Beechworth community in transforming the perception of the town from a place previously known only for its jail and mental health institute, a place for the mad, bad and sad, to a popular tourist destination.
Secondly, lateral thinking is required to captilise on opportunities and he cited the example of the Holbrook submarine, the submarine furthest from the ocean, and the QANTAS Founders Museum in Longreach. Both communities previously were not known as tourist destinations.
Thirdly, unity of purpose is a critical key to success.
Leadership and lateral thinking are lost without the community backing the projects that lead to success.
Mr Fischer then moved on to commend this community's two main events: Walk on the Wild Side and the Myall River Festival as initiatives which will surely draw attention to the local area and attract tourists.
An underrated aspect of the area in terms of its potential to attract tourists is the historical significance of the region on many levels.
This area was originally part of the country's first land-holding by the Australian Agricultural Company, the oldest company still in existence today.
Looking at the local history reveals many opportunities for providing a point of difference with other areas.
He cited Tahlee House as an example of an opportunity to build our profile to tourists.
Public transport links was another factor in the development of our tourist economy that requires development, and Mr Fischer spoke about the opportunity for a railway linking Hexham with Stroud.
Mr Fischer impressed guests with his knowledge of the history of the area by revealing tid-bits about the wanderings of the author Mark Twain, voted 16th most important American ever, when he visited Australia and the appeal such stories have for capturing particular markets such as the US tourists.
A few guests asked Mr Fischer questions relating to the decrease in Japanese visitors, impact of the dollar and the new move by environmentalists to deter long distance travellers from taking long flights.
Mr Fischer showed that exceptional events can overcome some of these obstacles.
The Chelsea Flower Show in the UK has grown from being a local market show to a major, internationally renowned event lasting a month.
The key, Mr Fischer believes, is to run with opportunities as they arise.
His final example of this was the Melbourne Cup, which is currently under threat due to the Equine Flu.
Mr Fischer suggests that this could actually represent an opportunity in some eyes to create a new event for punters.
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