Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council along with regional tourism development consultants Tilma Group have taken out a 2024 National Economic Development Award for Excellence (NEDA).
The prestigious award was presented on 17 October 2024 at the National Economic Development Conference in Naarm/Melbourne. The award is for Economic Development Initiatives for Regions Under 15,000 Residents. The Awards acknowledge Australian economic development professionals who employ best practice innovation and creativity to improve communities across the country.
The Award recognised agritourism development initiatives CGRC’s economic development team have undertaken since 2020. This included a recent agritourism mentoring project funded through the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grant Program which Tilma Group developed and delivered for CGRC. Agritourism is a type of tourism where visitors experience a taste of farm life on their holiday.
CGRC’s Manager Business Ms Linda Wiles said “CRGC’s comprehensive, multi-faceted, and grant funded strategic planning, capacity building, and marketing activities since 2020 have been undertaken to support growth in agritourism across the region. Together these agritourism development initiatives are thought to comprise an innovative first in Australia.
Council now has a ‘one stop shop’ for local farmers to find all the information they need in one place to support the development of an agritourism offering on their farm. Farmers can use this portal on CGRC’s website to get assistance with developing a business case for a new or expanded agritourism offering, find marketing advice, and be inspired by case studies from successful agritourism business owners from across Australia,” Ms Wiles added.
The portal can be viewed at www.cgrc.nsw.gov.au/agritourism-development.
CGRC’s agritourism development initiatives highlight a sector of tourism within the region that historically has not been promoted. It is an approach to boost tourism in a non-traditional way and help farmers diversify their incomes, whilst educating city dwellers about life on the land and farm to fork produce.
Tilma Group’s mission is to transform visitor encounters in regional Australia with meaningful experiences. Providing destination development, strategic activation, experience design, and capability building services, Tilma Group have worked with an impressive range of Councils and tourism operators to enhance visitor experiences and attract new visitors to their regions.
“We admire Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council’s strategic approach and consistent efforts to develop agritourism over time to support the local visitor economy,” said Linda Tillman, Director of Tilma Group. “We commend Council for implementing the Agritourism Development Strategy we developed for Council back in 2020. It’s a really exciting opportunity for the region, and the timing is perfect as Destination Riverina Murray recently released their plan to grow agritourism across the broader region. We love projects like this one and proactive clients like Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council’s economic development team.”
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