Echuca-Moama district tourism: what are the next steps?

EMT chair George Santos believes it is a shame to be in this position, seeing an important space for a tourism body in the twin towns.

“Sadly, this is the point it’s come to,” he said,

“No-one was looking forward to this happening, but the reality is we have a number of directors, board members who are personally responsible and liable, both financially and legally to ensure the organisation runs at a profit.

“We couldn’t manage that, so it’s come to a point that we have to consider the future, and the only real option was to wind up the organisation.

“Everyone is shattered because we still feel, even today, that there is a place for a body that will drive tourism in town.

“We still believe it needs to be in the hands of a third party. We hope whoever takes up the mantle does a great job because both Echuca and Moama need a strong presence in the market.

“We need more of a stronger presence than we have currently, so I hope that whatever happens next is certainly able to promote the area.”

After announcing the organisation’s closure in May, the handover of EMT’s assets has been a topic of discussion among its members, with businesses and councils putting their hands up to take them on.

Operations officially ceased on June 30, while the EMT website and social media accounts have continued to be maintained, two of the key assets vied for by members.

The board considered proposals from a range of members, ultimately deciding that C4EM best fit the brief.

This is defined in its constitution, where “surplus assets may only be distributed to a not-for-profit organisation with similar purposes”.

“There was some interest following our last members meeting, and a number of different individuals suggested they might be interested,” Mr Santos said.

“The only feasible one — and mainly because C4EM is a like organisation, it’s not-for-profit and can promote tourism in our community.

“Along those guidelines, it’s the only organisation that we really could have considered.

“We’re so happy to be able to promote C4EM and transfer both our digital assets and whatever is left from our cash assets across, so they can continue to promote the community on the tourism front.”

C4EM chair Cath Lees said the organisation is prepared to take on EMT’s assets if the vote passes, and will look for a range of opinions to inform its plans.

“C4EM has agreed to continue with our proposal, which is to set up a subcommittee of local industry tourism experts,” she said.

“We are happy to be the custodians of the assets, and getting a good understanding of what they are will be really important.

“Then, our plan remains as it was always, to get together the group of industry experts to talk about the next steps.

“Hopefully by then we’ll have a better understanding of what the councils’ longer term plans are.”

Murray River Council and Campaspe Shire Council have been working together to keep the tourism ball rolling. This includes the development of a regional visitor guide.

“Since EMT announced their decision to close, Campaspe Shire Council has worked closely with Murray River Council to develop destination marketing for the region, and look forward to working with the broader tourism industry to ensure Echuca-Moama and the surrounding region continue to be a destination of choice,” Campaspe Shire Council chief executive Pauline Gordon said.

“Both councils have worked together to release the 2024-25 Echuca Moama Visitor Guide which serves as a key promotional asset to attract tourists to our community.

“The latest edition will be out just in time for the September school holidays and will grace over 120 visitor centres throughout Victoria and southern NSW, as well as being available digitally.”

Campaspe Shire Council has also worked on a destination marketing campaign with Murray Regional Tourism, and launched its Quality Tourism Business Program with the Victorian Tourism Industry Council.

“In addition, Campaspe Shire Council in collaboration with Murray Regional Tourism, recently ran a successful winter destination marketing campaign through various channels including print, radio and digital marketing,” Mrs Gordon said.

“Campaspe Shire Council is also delivering professional development opportunities for the tourism industry and at present is supporting 13 local tourism businesses to gain national accreditation.”

At this stage, C4EM is exploring the options for collaboration, particularly with the two councils.

“I’ve had some informal conversations with them. We received an email from (Murray River Council and) Campaspe Shire that described their plans to commence a modest spring campaign which is great,” Dr Lees said.

“That’s good because we need something happening.

“We would probably be interested in the longer game, what does our marketing look like post-spring campaign? What assets have we got? What resources have we got around the table? Who is in a position to be able to do something with them?

“What are the councils doing and what are we doing? What I would be very keen to avoid is any duplication.

“At this stage, (we’re) just keen to see if we do have industry interest in coming with C4EM and working out what to do with the assets.”

Mr Santos believes that C4EM has an opportunity to start fresh with the councils, following some tension during discussions about the end of EMT.

“With the digital assets, it will allow them to start a new relationship with hopefully both Murray River Council and Campaspe Shire Council to drive tourism from a different perspective,” he said.

“We wish them all the best, and we hope that they’re able to establish a fruitful relationship with those two organisations to promote tourism in the best possible way.”

Dr Lees has encouraged interested businesses to contribute if the vote passes.

“We’re really happy to work with whoever wants to come on board,” she said.

“We are happy to represent the industry for those who want to come and join us.

“There’s a lot of people with vested interests, so we wanted to purely give them a platform and an existing governance structure to be able to do that.”

Both Mr Santos and Dr Lees would like to see a strong tourism market in the region, and hope that these next steps will provide that opportunity.

“I hope whatever happens next happens quickly, and it’s efficient, and makes a difference to our community,” Mr Santos said.

“What I hope it looks like is: the community is once again united, focused on building a strong tourism industry for Echuca-Moama,” Dr Lees said.