Tourism ties secured

THE Borough of Queenscliffe has decided to continue its partnership with Tourism Greater Geelong and the Bellarine (TGGB) for the next four years.

After weeks of speculation that the borough was preparing to break from the region’s peak tourism body, a borough spokesperson on Wednesday confirmed the council would enter into a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TGGB.

The existing MoU, which underpins the body’s relationship with each of its partner councils, was due to expire on June 30.

“The Borough of Queenscliffe is working with Tourism Greater Geelong and the Bellarine on the draft MoU and preparing to sign before the current MoU finishes in June,” the borough spokesperson said.

The spokesperson did not, however, respond to queries about the factors that motivated this decision, nor the source of the council’s initial hesitation in signing a new partnership agreement.

Queenscliffe mayor Di Rule has previously been open about the borough’s financial struggles, and highlighted the importance of ensuring “every dollar is spent carefully and doing what matters” in her maiden speech at the council’s December meeting last year.

Earlier this year, Cr Donnie Grigau confirmed the borough was undertaking a “deep dive” into how its money was being spent, indicating “everything is on the table” as the council works to stretch its limited funds.

In an email to members last week, TGGB chairman Bill Mithen and executive director Tracy Carter defended the value the tourism body had provided to the Borough of Queenscliffe over the past 12 months.

“We have been open to developing a set of indicators with council by which we can measure the success of the new MoU,” the email stated.

Withdrawing from the MoU, Mr Mithen and Ms Carter said, would also mean withdrawing from the Victorian government’s visitor economy partnership, which they said would put at risk the borough’s ability to access tourism funding from the state.

“We understand how critical tourism is to the local economy and we consider the businesses and experiences in Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale among some of the best in our region.

“As a tourism town, we would expect that should the Borough of Queenscliffe not pursue a new four-year MoU, council will assume the responsibilities of destination marketing, media engagement, long-term planning, product development and industry strengthening, to ensure ongoing support for the tourism businesses in the Borough of Queenscliffe.”