As the summer heads our way it is a salient reminder of how busy things can get in Byron Shire with around two million tourists visiting a year. With a ratepayer base of around 37,000 meeting the needs and expectations of those two million visitors is a challenge.
The Destination Byron Symposium taking place on 23 October is looking to take on the challenge of how the Byron Shire community can establish and benefit from a regenerative model of tourism and is calling for the establishment of a Destination Management Organisation (DMO).
‘Byron Shrie is a tourist destination and has been for a long time and if we ignore that fact then we’re at risk of a whole range of different problems,’ said Jeanie Wylie, Destination Byron Secretary and Frida’s Field owner.
Ms Wylie said that we need to look at establishing a DMO and Byron Shire Council (BSC) needs to complete its destination management plan (DMP).
‘All other local government areas (LGAs) on the north coast and beyond, all have DMPs,’ she told The Echo.
Shaping out future
‘Destination Byron is encouraged by the new Council’s more positive attitude towards the potential benefits of tourism, although some frustrations are bubbling at the pace of change.’ Council have said they are working on the DMP but Destination Byron say they have yet to hear much about its progress from BSC.
‘The symposium is a great opportunity to look at how tourism can be a positive thing for the region, if it’s well managed,’ Ms Wylie explained.
‘When people are deciding “do I want to go to Byron, or do I want to go to the Gold Coast?”, if there’s an active message out there about, what you can experience in Byron Shire, for example bush walking, going to the farmers’ market, seeing an amazing show at the Brunswick Picture House, doing yoga, art, ceramics, or having a massage, then you are actively painting a picture of what tourists can be doing when they’re here. That then attracts the type of visitor that we want to see supported, and that supports our community.
‘The symposium that we’re holding next week is the start of us trying to have some wider community engagement. A key part of that is trying to gauge if there is an appetite to support and fund the creation of a DMO, and what that could look like,’ she said.
Support needed
‘There are a lot of different models out there, whether it’s a levy, a bed tax, a voluntary levy, a compulsory levy, or sponsorship programs. It’s very challenging, Byron Shire needs more support from external sources including state and federal government. We’re in such a unique position with such a small population of ratepayers versus this high number of visitors, that is more than double all of the other LGAs in the north coast.’
If you are interested in getting involved, then pick up a ticket to the Destination Byron Symposium at www.destinationbyron.com.au/symposium.
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