Plans to build on $371.6m tourism sales

Parramatta wants to build on the $371.6 million in sales in the city’s hospitality and tourism sectors by setting up a committee and appointing a tourism officer to entice more domestic and international visitors up the river to Parramatta.

An economic development tourism committee of key stakeholders will be charged with improving the growth of visitor numbers, encouraging them to stay longer in the city and to spend more.in its restaurants, cafes and retail outlets.

“We need to invest more resources into developing our tourism product to put us in a better position to capitalise on the economic benefits tourism brings,” Parramatta Lord Mayor, John Chedid, said

The current situation is that council’s investment in tourism growth, to date, had been “modest,” he said.

The challenge the committee faces is to transform Parramatta, which is regarded as a service centre to a destination projecting a “vibe and buzz”.

Observers of the initiatives to improve, to-date, the city’s razzmatazz – Parramattazz, to coin a word – and the public domain amenity would be hard-pressed to criticise council’s efforts to make the city a place to visit.

Stakeholders to assist in the formation of the committee and its plans include the National Trust, Parramatta Park Trust, Destination NSW, Sydney Ferries, Parramatta Chamber of Commerce, the Australian Turf Club and local hotel and restaurant representatives.

The highest priorities are the development of new and existing tourism product and experiences, building strategic partnerships, providing quality infrastructure and amenity and delivering smart, effective communication and marketing, Clr Chedid said

“It is critical now that we provide a greater focus on these initiatives so the city can achieve its full potential and be a place where people want to live, work and play,” he said.

Council will consider funding a tourism product development officer and allocating sufficient resources when finalising its corporate plan and budget for 2014/15.

President of the Parramatta Chamber of Commerce, Roger Byrne, said the city has been built on the back of commerce and enterprise and as such the historical elements take a back seat to the commercial focus of the city.

“A unique selling proposition and clear and concise tourism marketing and infrastructure plan needs to be in place if this committee is able to make a difference,” he said.

An indication of the foundation on which the city could leverage more domestic and international visitors is the contribution of $371.6 million in sales which the hospitality and tourism sectors made to the local economy in 2011/12, according to the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research.