A meeting held at Murray Connect on Wednesday, May 10 with Destination Riverina Murray (DRM) and local tourism stakeholders provided stimulating conversations around the new agritourism strategy.
Destination Riverina Murray’s mission is to strengthen the region’s visitor economy by developing strong partnerships with industry, local government and tourism organisations to collectively contribute towards increasing visitation, expenditure and dispersal within the Riverina Murray region; across 149,000 square kilometres comprising 22 local government areas, and is home to over 275,000 people.
Barham based Yvette Myhill, General Manager of DRM, welcomed attendees and described the area of operations that the team covers as the whole Riverina Murray from the South Australian border up into the Snowy Mountains and as far out as Hillston and West Wyalong.
Joining Yvette was independent consultant, Sarah Myers of Myers Strategic Marketing. Sarah has a long history in the food and wine tourism industry, working in brand management roles for iconic brands such as Cadbury, Cottee’s, Schweppes, Penfolds and Wynns Coonawarra Estate.
The developing Agritourism Strategy will provide significant opportunities for farmers, tourism operators and the wider community to capitalise on the Riverina Murray’s unique combination of agricultural and tourism assets, including its wine, food, fibre and natural attractions.
The initial work undertaken has included case studies of agritourism projects and programs locally, across the state, in Australia and internationally. The scoping study also included engagement with agricultural peak bodies and key players in the sector. The consultation meetings held across the region will now fact check the information gathered in the initial scoping studies and seek feedback.
“It’s about farmers diversifying into tourism and I think that’s an important note,” stated Sarah Myers.
“It’s not about a tourist attraction, putting in a kitchen garden or having a few free-range chooks out the back, it’s about farmers diversifying into the tourism sector.
“It’s about providing recreation, entertainment and/or educational experience related to their agricultural enterprise.
“Some examples of farm tourism I’m sure you are familiar with are farm tours and demonstrations, pick your own, farm cafes and restaurants, retail outlets, events such as cooking lessons and experiential farm stays, and bed and breakfasts.”
The initial work identifies that land holdings across the region were smaller in size towards the east and larger holdings across the west. The region’s mainly dryland, grazing and cereal based cropping that covers approximately 80 per cent of the land mass, with the remaining 20 per cent being higher value crops.
During group discussions, it was abundantly clear the region had many unique opportunities to cater to the tourism sector. A rich history of land use spanning thousands of years provides great opportunity to tell our history of post and pre-European settlement. The unique and abundant ecosystems were also highlighted with a diverse range of wildlife and many endangered species which call the land of the region home.
It was also highlighted that to meet the demands of a sustainable and prosperous tourism venture, collaboration would be key. To utilise current services in the towns’ centres and also new ventures to cater to a broader range of tourist who vary in their spending and expectations.
A need for children focused entertainment or recreational activities were highlighted as well as having a boat on the Murray to perform tours.
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 18 May 2023.