QPRC Tourism Plan and Tourism Policy

The Bungendore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) will submit a separate letter about our concerns to QPRC, emphasising that the Draft Plan is a sound generic document for administrators, but lacks the emphasis on key initiatives that can be declared and managed as projects. Included against the three "themes" of the plan, these may be: Meet the Makers, Ultimate Cycling Destination, and Bringing Our Heritage to Life. Each project should be managed in a program that will lead to eventual acceptance, efficiency of resources and quantifiable sustainable practice.

I am really pleased that QRPC has put this strategy together. As a Carwoola Resident and someone with community and farming interests in this area, it has been such a missed opportunity in the past. I see the report as a catalyst to garner support and energy to really develop our area into a comprehensive visitor offering and revitalise many local spaces and businesses. I support the development of cyclotourism in its many forms and would like to see this initiative progressed quickly. Great report!

* The overall conditions are not exist for the QPRC Tourism Plan.
* No distinct attraction to attract tourists.
* The assumption of tourists spending per person per trip on tourism economic modeling is not realistic, at current Australian economic condition, the figure is too high.

It's great to have a focus and direction and the Tourism Plan seems to have taken into consideration all the fantastic things this region has to offer. My comments are as follows:
- p12 - Strengths: Numerous artists, artisans, craftspeople and makers in the region (Cultural Tourism)
- p12 - Opportunities: Build on existing (successful) events
- p13 - Weaknesses: No clear identity for Queanbeyan + Queanbeyan CBD is more of a thoroughfare for traffic, rather than a destination.
- p17 - Sports Tourism: Any 'sport' that involves the exploitation of and cruelty to animals is not a sport. While Rodeos are long-standing events in regional areas, aspects of them are inherently cruel. It would be great if Council did not support any events that exploit animals.
- p20 - Destination Positioning: Consider marking the arrival into Queanbeyan at all entry points, so people know they are in fact in Queanbeyan, i.e. Welcome signs. Perhaps consider unifying the branding of each town and village so people can recognise they are in the LGA while still giving each town and village their own unique identity.
- p23 - Revitalising our Places 'Create a hub or creative precinct around The Q Theatre to encourage and attract musicians and emerging artists and artisans through offering low-cost studio space': An idea here, if possible, might be to place Queanbeyan as a 'start-up' area, offering mentoring and funding, this could be creative start-up, tech start-up... consider using empty spaces for this???
- p31 - The Great Outdoors: Ultimately it's a fine line, while celebrating what the area has to offer you also don't want to lose the essence of this, which has been known to happen as developers come in wanting to build resorts and other facilities in these natural environments in order to capitlise on the tourist dollar. We need to ensure these environments will remain 'undisturbed' for future generations to enjoy.

I am very pleased to see the mention of volunteer fatigue within the document however I think that it is important to acknowlege that many if not all of the events that attract the largest number of visitors (particularly in the small towns) are run by these volunteers. If there was a possibility of supporting these volunteers more in the event management efforts then I think you will find they will happily keep on with it for longer and it might reduce burn out rates. Initial even just providing cost free advice on marketing and communications and access to the councils large distribution networks would be a fantastic start. Followed by perhaps some free targeted event management or similar workshops. Often people have a fantastic idea and the drive to do it but just not the full set of skills required for success. Thanks for you time. Hannah Gillespie - Majors Creek Festival

Cycling and Bike tourism:
First, understand that these are two very different things with very different participants, facilities and associated events. As a cyclist, and a resident of Bywong, I would love to train and compete in events locally. Instead I "drive" to Canberra, meet other cyclists and spend my money there. It is simply too dangerous to ride on regional roads for the following reasons;
1. There is no road verge.
2. Road skirt conditions are generally poor with multiple pot holes, uneven patch sections, road kill, and sections of loose gravel.
3. Roads are frequented by large, illegal vehicles including B Doubles, and Semi trailers.
4. Country drivers are often not accustomed to sharing their regional roads with cyclists resulting in ignorance about adequate overtaking margins.

If QPRC is serious about "creating the ultimate cycling destination" some very big impediments have to be addressed. Catering for recreational bicycle riders is very different to catering for cyclists. Your plan needs to understand this difference in terms of necessary facilities and potential tourist numbers and commercial outcomes. You are not going to get families riding 30kms between villages on a Rail Trail, and road cyclists aren't likely to use them either as the Victorian Government discovered a decade ago.
Then there is Mountain Biking (MTB). Some lessons can be learnt from New Zealand who have established very successful Mountain Bike Parks which attract international tourists.
If QPRC is to create a world-class cycling destination it will need to think well beyond ACT Pedal Power. It will need to forge relationships with Tourism NSW (http://www.visitnsw.com/things-to-do/tours/australian-cycling-holidays), Cycling Australia, and bodies such as the Amy Gillett Foundation (http://www.amygillett.org.au/). It's entirely possible with a lot of hard work that our region could stage a cycling event which could be classified with the International Cycling Association.
If this segment of the plan is to be classed as a "game changer" it will require very significant investment and key partnerships. This market is very specific with identifiable sub-groups. An understanding of this is critical.

Meet the Makers.
Artists, Food and Drink Trails. Wonderful concept however, make sure the LEP allows small landholders to diversify current land use and initiate cottage style art, food and beverage industries. Currently this is not the case. In the old Palerang Shire, E4 land zoning prevents the adoption of a change of land use. Over the past 12 months alone there have been several publicly documented cases where landholders have been prevented from operating these types of businesses by Palerang Council. As it stands this will present a significant obstruction to concepts proposed in this draft plan.
Mareeta Grundy
Bywong

Your Tourism Plan Survey limits what can be said, hence these general comments.
The QPRC Tourism Plan and Tourism Policy is almost drowned out by the verbose nature of the document. However, two aspects that may have been missed are:
a. reference to workshops and conferences that take place (p21). For instance, I just attended a state-wide Land for Wildlife two-day workshop based at the Jerrabomberra Community Centre. And I regularly know that people travel from out of area to wildlife workshops that are held locally.
b. Nature-based experiences (p22) might include greenways, crown land and other public rights of way. As a Wamboin resident, I do know the local greenways are well used.
Regards