The Yarra Ranges could be lumped in with other Victorian tourism regions following a State Government review, Yarra Ranges Council fears.
Councillors agreed to make a submission to the State Government review of regional tourism at their Tuesday 27 August meeting.
The review aims to find new ways to support tourism in regional Victoria, enhance private investment and create more regional jobs.
But Cr Fiona McAllister said there were rumours circulating around the review, and the investment in the work suggested it would result in change.
She said there was talk about combining the Yarra Ranges region with the Mornington Peninsula.
“Tourism, as we well know, is such an important factor of every arm of good health in the Yarra Ranges,” she said.
“Any review and any amalgamation process would have a substantial impact on our voice.”
Cr McAllister hoped feedback would inform a best practice model that would come back for a further conversation with local government and tourism bodies.
“And not just a roll-out of one-size-fits-all,” she said.
“For us to step into an amalgamated model with no further consultation would be absolutely disastrous.“
And not just for the Yarra Ranges.
“Other areas deserve a voice the same as we do,” she said.
Cr McAllister said she absolutely supported a review and any shifts that could be made to better practice.
“But I don’t think Yarra Ranges Council are looking for a shift to an amalgamated entity,” she said.
“It might see us withdrawing financial support.”
Cr Mike Clarke said the region was so iconic for tourism in quite a diverse range of ways.
“To have that diluted to me would be a disadvantage for us,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot to still improve.”
The council report on the submission noted that tourism directly provided the Yarra Ranges with 3300 jobs and $619 million in gross revenue annually.
“Indirectly, tourism has a significant influence on the economy across all industry sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, retail trade, accommodation and food services, and arts and recreation services,” the report said.
Yarra Ranges Tourism Limited (YRT) is the Regional Tourism Board for the State Government’s Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges campaign region.
Yarra Range Council outsources the municipality’s marketing and promotion to YRT and supports the body financially.
