New strategies focus on growth and prosperity
Tuesday 8 November
The Draft Tamworth Tomorrow Economic Development Strategy 2022 – 2026 and the Draft Visitor Economy Plan 2022 – 2027 are new strategies that were endorsed by Councillors at tonight’s Ordinary Council Meeting.
Following extensive engagement with the community and key stakeholders in the region, the Tamworth Tomorrow Strategy aligns with Blueprint 100, Our Community Plan 2023-2033 and Destination NSW strategies. The draft document outlines a clear path to enhance the work already being done in the economic development space and identifies opportunities for investment through existing infrastructure, whilst addressing current challenges and facilitating new opportunities.
Director of Growth and Prosperity Jacqueline O’Neill, said: “The Tamworth Region’s economy is strong and thriving, however, the focus of this strategy is how can we continue to develop it into the future and build a diverse, resilient and sustainable regional economy.”
“We now have a document that will streamline our decisions and leverage our growing population and strong industry base. It will enhance water security, support future industries and leverage the renewable economy to build on our traditional economic benefits”.
Examples include, facilitating innovation in water management and usage.
The strategy will focus on the major investment opportunities the Tamworth region has available to support the local economy, boost jobs and support new and existing industries. It will also leverage emerging trends such as ‘digital nomads’ to drive local economic activity.
One area the Tamworth Tomorrow Strategy identifies as a priority is the Tamworth region’s potential growth in the tourism industry. Council completed several months of consultation, surveys and numerous workshops with stakeholders to identity what needs to be done in the tourism space, how to achieve it and steps to prioritise the suggestions. This is now caputred in the draft Visitor Economy Plan 2022-2027.
Ms O’Neill said: “Tourism is worth almost $300 million annually to the Tamworth Region’s economy, however 20% of this is accounted to the Tamworth Country Music Festival. This strategy focusses on how we can not only leverage the reputation as the Country Music Capital of Australia but also inspire visitors to stay longer and explore further.”
“Our first target of the Visitor Economy Plan is to increase the average overnight visitor length of stay by one night. We have found that if one quarter of overnight visitors simply stayed one more night, increasing the average length of stay from 2.5 nights to 3.3 nights, it would add an additional $20 million to our region’s visitor economy.”
The first action from the Visitor Economy Plan that the Council’s Destination Tamworth team will be prioritising is the One More Campaign which the community can expect to see in market early next year.
This campaign will focus on encouraging visitors to extend their stay by at least one more night and experience all the region has to offer, including promoting regional dispersal. This is an opportunity for the Council to engage with the business community and focus on supporting the frontline businesses that interact with visitors daily.
For more information, see the full reports at www.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/about/the-council/council-meetings/business-papers-and-minutes