Council inserts action plan into tourism blueprint

By Tim Howard

Rubber stamping a seven-year plan to manage and develop tourism in the Clarence Valley was never going to good enough for Cr

Bill Day.

Cr Day, who headed the Clarence River Tourism Association for two decades, saw danger ahead when the proposal to put the Clarence Valley Destination Management Plan out for public exhibition came to the latest Clarence Valley Council meeting.

Cr Day said given the record of the council in tourism management, the plan would “collect dust” unless councillors committed to acting on its recommendations.

“They often collect dust unless it’s supported by annual plans that actually get down to the tin tacks, the budget, the staff resourcing that details of activities and projects,” he said.

He pointed to the failure of council’s frst venture into tourism management after it shut down the CRTA in 2014.

“We haven’t had a current tourism strategy for three years,” he said.

“The last one was brought in in 2016 for a fve-year period.

“I’ve gone through the 2016 plan and there’s things that were never done. There were things that failed miserably.

“It’s important that councillors get a grasp on what they want for the ratepayers money that we spend on tourism.”

He said the document about to go out on public exhibition was a “wish list” and a “word salad” but was also an important document.

“It doesn’t contain a lot of heart and a lot of things that are quite substantial receive one line in the strategy,” he said.

To beef up the strategy Cr Day moved that council:

1. endorse the Clarence Valley Destination Management Plan for public exhibition from Friday 26 April to 6 June 2024.

2. as soon as possible following this exhibition, hold a councillor workshop for council to review the plan and submissions received during the exhibition period.

3. receive at this workshop a 12 to 24 month plan outlining the funding and processes regarding Clarence Valley Tourism activities and options.

“This workshop that I’m proposing is, really, really important,” Cr Day said.

“I’ll certainly be making a response to the draft strategy.

“I might bring up a notice of motion yet, detailing a few more specifcs about what I’d like to see in the workshop.

“There’s a new coordinator for Economic Development and Tourism, who’s just taken up her position in council.

“It’s very important that we help her understand

If Kristy Gill had her way, she would cook 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“I used to advertise on Facebook and made cakes for my friends and family,” she said.

From there, Kristy opened the Riverview Café in Coraki but when the opportunity came up for her to move her business to Casino, she took it.

And Crazy Cow Café was born.

“I fgured it was a good name to suit the beef where to start and what’s expected from tourism from us representing the council.”

Deputy mayor Jeff Smith, who seconded Cr Day’s motion, said it was important to include an “action step”.

“I’ve read a lot of reports, and a lot of them don’t have that action step,” he said.

“This motion does in that we’re going to have a workshop and just as importantly talk about funding and processes for the next 12 to 24 months what’s achievable and what can and can’t be done.

“It’s all very good to having a wish list. But what is realistic, what’s feasible and what’s going to actually beneft the valley and the economy?”

Councillors were excited at the tourism opportunities discussed in the draft plan with indigenous heritage, eco-tourism and the environment heavily mentioned.

But Cr Debrah Novak sounded a word of warning about how climate change could impact future tourism development. She even posited a term “natural disaster adventure” to keep tourists coming when nature turned ugly.

“It’s perfect for tourists, but when it’s blowing a gale, fooding they run, so we need to have a plan B to support these tourists to stay here,” she said.

“Give them some other sort of natural disaster adventure and come up with something different that will actually keep our tourists here looking for a bit more opportunity.”

Cr Steve Pickering said the draft plan did have a “plan B” with emphasis on galleries, museums as alternative activities to exploring the outdoors.

But he said plan was