Meeting looks at Visit Ballarat’s future

A RECENT industry information session has focused on the transition of tourism services from Visit Ballarat to the City of Ballarat.

The meeting came after the municipality ended an agreement with the tourism body and moved to take the services back in house.

During the meeting Mayor Cr Samantha McIntosh said the council’s decision was not taken lightly and is not a reflection on the Visit Ballarat board, staff and volunteers.

“We hope to continue to work with them, this is about a better bold and vibrant Ballarat,” she said. “Rest assured that we are not taking away any tourism services, we are taking away red tape and duplication.”

Kate Davis, Plate Up Ballarat Festival Director, queried what will happen to the Visit Ballarat staff, its intellectual property and the key relationships facilitated by the organisation over the past seven years. “If we lose them, then we will fall behind,” she said.

In response Jeff Johnson, Executive Manager, Events and the Arts, said the city’s development and planning business unit, with 80-90 staff, will take over the tourism role and will be creating 12 new positions.

Cr McIntosh said council would welcome applications from the 16 staff employed within Visit Ballarat for the new positions.

The new jobs will be advertised within the next two weeks, added Justine Linley, City of Ballarat CEO.

A new municipal plan, known as Ballarat is Open will be implemented on the same model as the Creative Cities Strategy, which is based on consultation with industry sectors and the broader community.

Cr McIntosh said the strategy is not a tourism brand nor a tourism campaign or concept.

Visit Ballarat member Claire Fitzpatrick questioned why the industry wasn’t spoken to or consulted before council made its decision. “You have taken over and you’re not listening to us,” Ms Fitzpatrick said.

In response Cr Mcintosh said that currently the industry talks to Visit Ballarat and not to the council.

“We want you to talk to us, that’s why we have set up the Ballarat is Open Strategy,” she said.

Gorgi Coglan, co-owner of the Provincial Hotel and Visit Ballarat member, asked Cr Mcintosh and the other councillors in attendance at the meeting were listening to the energy and voices in the room.

“We don’t feel that we have been consulted, you bring the people with you, you don’t tell them what you have done,” she said. “We love the Made of Ballarat campaign even in its embryonic stage.”

Ms Linley replied the Made of Ballarat brand, devised by Visit Ballarat, will continue.

“We are very conscious of high-end tourism and we are not stopping this campaign,” she said.

According to Visit Ballarat Chair, Paul Armstrong, between 2014-2018 Ballarat had experienced an 18 per cent increase in tourism visits, a 10 per cent increase in overnight visits and a 4 per cent increase in international tourist visitors.

In response to those claims the municipality released its own set of numbers 24 hours after the meeting.

The City of Ballarat statement said that since 2017, international visitor growth was 2.6 per cent in Ballarat, while Bendigo was up nearly 12 per cent and regional Victoria as a whole increased by over 10 per cent.

Meanwhile overnight stays in Ballarat are down 40 per cent for international tourists and almost 12 per cent for domestic tourists.

The statement also said that while Ballarat was spending a combined $6 million a year between Visit Ballarat and its own events and marketing activities for $484 million in return. In contrast Bendigo was at $3.8 million and making $479 million while Geelong was dropping $4.9 million into tourism but getting back $976 million return.

During the meeting Mr Armstrong said it was uncertain what the City of Ballarat has in mind for the future of the organisation.

“They have made it clear they do not want to run a membership organisation,” he said. “The Visit Ballarat board wants you [our members] to decide what you want our organisation to look like after September,” he said.