A Mount Keira adventure playground, a conferencing upgrade at WIN Entertainment Centre and turning Port Kembla into a turnaround port are three big areas of focus for Destination Wollongong in 2018.
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New chairman Colin Bloomfield used his first address at a partner function to inform the growing membership base about the board’s key wish list.
“The board is spending a lot of time at the moment looking for major infrastructure projects that are going to move the dial on the tourism economy. We need to have a strong voice in growing the visitor economy in Wollongong. And that is going to happen if we have some of these larger infrastructure projects.”
Mr Bloomfield said the Cruise Wollongong initiative was one key to growing visitation.
“If we get to our ultimate goal, which is making Port Kembla a turnaround port for the cruise lines, that will put Wollongong on the map,” he said.
“People who embark or disembark at a port tend to stay near the port. It is a critically important piece of the puzzle. And we are making very good progress. Under Leigh Colacino’s leadership we are seeing quite a lot of traction there. And we are waiting for some government policy to be released in that space.”
Mr Bloomfield’s comments came just before last week’s Federal Budget announcement $300,000 has been allocated to finding a solution to Sydney Harbour's port capacity problems. Cruise tourism injects $5 billion into the Australian economy every year and NSW accounts for more than 63 per cent of that revenue.
On creating a Mount Keira adventure playground Mt Bloomfield said it would take some time but it was important to be consistent with such advocacy.
Destination Wollongong’s plan is to ramp up that push. “We are not going to be satisfied until we see the activation of Mount Keira as a major regional tourism destination in Australia. It has that potential. It will start with mountain biking and it will grow from there”.
Mr Bloomfield said there was starting to be a real groundswell of support from peak bodies in Wollongong calling for an upgrade to WIN Entertainment Centre to become a convention venue.
“We need a regional convention venue. There is very strong proof that business delegates who come for regional conventions will return as recreational tourism visitors. And we know business conventions are high yield functions generally. We will continue to look at what we can do over the next 12 months.“
Mr Bloomfield said the Wollongong visitor economy was continuing to grow strongly. And a key function of Destination Wollongong is to facilitate such growth. He said it does that with the help of so many proactive partners.
Meanwhile Mr Bloomfield also announced that after seven years on the board Anita Mulrooney, of Peoplecare, had announced her resignation.
Time to consider having another hotel
The time is right for Wollongong to consider building another hotel.
Destination Wollongong general manager Mark Sleigh said a 12 per cent growth in accommodation statistics was a massive result and showed the city had a wonderful environment and visitor interest.
Mr Sleigh’s team has been working tirelessly on a strategic plan for the city which is being encouraged by the new chairman Colin Bloomfield.
“Hotel accommodation figures are up strongly from 68 per cent in 2014 to 79 per cent at the end of 2017,” Mr Bloomfield said.
He said it showed with great products comes great success.
He said the events program run by Destination Wollongong was definitely helping. As is constant destination and social media marketing.
Mr Sleigh said a convention centre was also important to the region moving forward. “Business events are absolutely going through the roof for our region. And I don’t think we yet fully understand the importance of that. We will be continuing to advocate for a convention centre.” Mr Sleigh welcomed producer Steve Jaggi who is shooting a third Disney feature film in the region which showed the film industry also doing well.
“We have such a fantastic natural environment and a very supportive council. The film industry can come here and do things a lot easier than they can in Sydney.”
Mr Jaggi said Wollongong is a fantastic place to shoot with great locations. “Destination Wollongong and the local council have been fantastic to work with. The Illawarra really does offer a point of difference over Sydney and Melbourne. Back of the Net will be in cinemas nationwide in mid September.”
Mr Sleigh said Jeremy Wilshire’s work over the last six year securing major events for the city was also delivering amazing results.
And again they are being achieved with the help of a very supportive council and hotel industry.
Mr Sleigh said it was a very exciting time to be involved in tourism in Wollongong because some big things are set to happen. And major infrastructure projects will benefit everyone in the community.
Mr Bloomfield said Destination Wollongong’s small team was doing a great job in many areas.
”Member numbers are up 21 per cent this year which gives you and idea of the strength of the delivery of the Destination Wollongong team. And the more members we get the stronger the voice we have.”