Coffs Harbour’s grand ambitions revealed in draft tourism strategy
Holiday haven Coffs Harbour is watching the tourism dollars fly in after taking a calculated gamble on a Visitor Information Centre. See what’s next for the bustling regional city.
Regional News
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City of Coffs Harbour has outlined a bold plan to turbocharge its surging tourism economy, building on a remarkable transformation of how it connects with holiday-makers.
Six years ago council made the considered and controversial decision to pull the pin on its one-stop-shop visitor information centre at The Big Banana.
It was reasoned, rightly, that modern day tourists often sussed a destination online.
Validation of that decision can now be seen in the numbers.
In 2017, the cost to operate the Visitor Information Centre (VIC) was $300,000 per year.
In its place are seven kiosk-style visitor information outlets spread across the coast. They cost just $28,000 a year to run.
They are more popular than the single centralised information centre – recording an average of 14,060 visits annually compared to 9640 per year at the old VIC.
The game has come a long way since Sydneysiders packed the family into the Kingswood and headed north to Coffs for the annual holiday with a Gregorys Street Map book to chart the way.
Roll forward to 2023 and tourism remains core business for Coffs.
Some 1.3 million people visited the Coffs Coast last year and an average of 270,000 hit the city’s destination website annually.
“Since the Coffs Coast was declared NSW’s first ever ECO Destination, the region’s profile as a great place to create unique holiday experiences and memories has grown all around the world,” City of Coffs Harbour general manager Natalia Cowley said.
To that end, Coffs has just released its draft tourism strategy for public comment.
It builds on its current outreach assets – the seven face-to-face kiosks, a visitor information hotline, a destination website, and social media marketing.
The path ahead includes an emphasis on events tourism, like Sydney Sixers Big Bash games, Cronulla Sharks NRL matches, and world class golf tournaments at renowned venues like the Bonville Resort layout.
Other opportunities are seen in sustainable travel, wellness and adventure travel and food and beverage experiences.
Longtime Coffs resident and mayor Paul Amos has watched the changing face of the city’s tourism offering closely.
He has mused it would be great if Coffs was home to another ‘world’ – like a Dreamworld or Sea World – to complement The Big Banana.
There are already a number of established attractions – from The Butterfly House and Marine Conservation Park through to The Clog Barn, but a second major theme park could be a game-changer.
“The city’s tourism strategy aims to capture the latest travel trends to continue to grow an industry that generates more than $282m every year for the region,” Ms Cowley said.
Feedback on the strategy can be made via the city’s Have Your Say website until September 29.
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Originally published as Coffs Harbour’s grand ambitions revealed in draft tourism strategy
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