Melbourne City Council’s bold plan to lure visitors back to Docklands
Following the disastrous closure of Central Pier, Melbourne City Council has devised a bold plan to lure tourists back to Docklands following a massive downturn in visitors.
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Melbourne City Council is set to forgo revenue in a bid to lure visitors back to Docklands after the disastrous closure of Central Pier.
Docklands businesses want urgent help, claiming the pier’s shutdown will mean the loss of up to 1.5 million visitors a year to the precinct.
Development Victoria temporarily closed the pier last August due to structural safety concerns, and last month announced that it would not reopen based on engineering advice.
In a report to go before councillors next week, council management said that the closure of restaurants and event spaces on the pier had led to a big downturn in visitors to Docklands.
“Events planned for those spaces have had to relocate out of Docklands, and this
has had a flow-on effect to local accommodation providers and other traders,” it said.
The report said that the Docklands Chamber of Commerce, which estimated annual visitor losses of 1 to 1.5 million, had sought urgent assistance.
Council’s city economy and activation team has recommended the waiver of permit fees for all public events held in public open space in Docklands for the rest of the year.
This is estimated to cost ratepayers up to $85,000.
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“In return for these fee waivers, management will investigate what additional programming and/or marketing each event organiser could implement in order to attract greater attendee numbers,” the report said.
If councillors approve the plan, the council will also help drive visitation by promoting all Docklands public events up to 2021.
Last month, the Herald Sun revealed that Docklands businesses had a plan for a permanent light and sound show to attract more tourists to the area.