Central Coast Council has a tourism vision that by 2025 the area will be known as a “vibrant magnetically attractive place to work, live and play”.
That is the “destination brand vision” adopted by Council on May 11 as part of its tourism management plan.
The plan will see the Council undertake the tourism management functions of destination marketing and public relations, business development and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE), all of which are currently outsourced.
Under the new plan digital and creative agencies will be outsourced.
The current Tourism Marketing Industry contract expires on June 30.
Recruitment for the proposed dedicated internal resources is expected to start this month.
Council will recruit the “appropriately skilled and experienced internal resources to provide a dedicated team to manage and deliver the services needed, inclusive of Visitor Services, website development and management, and the Tourism Opportunity Plan strategic activities”, the report adopted by the councillors said.
It will also undertake procurement of the proposed contracted specialty services, such as industry services and digital and creative marketing agencies, saying that operators prefer the support of an external organisation for tourism industry services.
The report said key findings from analysing models for tourism management in Australia and New Zealand suggest that: a more strategic and regional approach was needed to ensure best practice along with a high level of commitment from Council senior management and Councillors to develop a tourism management model; and that product development and marketing was enhanced when both functions were undertaken within the same organisation.
Source:
Central Coast Council May 11 Item 3.4