Hunter whines about funding, gives govt’ ultimatum

Tourism Hunter has entered a ‘period of dormancy’ saying it will close down indefinitely if the government does nothing to shake up funding.

The regional tourism organisation says it needs a more sustainable funding model from the NSW government, ABC news reports.

While Tourism Hunter is not the only regional tourism board to face major challenges of securing consistent funding, it is the first to proffer such an ultimatum.

According to Tourism Hunter chairman, Will Creedon per the ABC, there is a need to coordinate tourism campaigns to draw greater visitors to the region.

“For too long, regions across New South Wales have been hampered by inconsistent capability funding,” Creedon said.

“Today we ask the New South Wales government to usher in a new era to take regional tourism forward.”

Tourism Hunter yesterday resolved to enter a ‘period of dormancy’, pending the finalisation of a sustainable regional tourism model by the NSW government, the report states.

“Last year we achieved 8.6 million visitors, that’s a growth of 4.8%,” Creedon said, adding the Hunter region deserved to get the most out of its tourism industry.

“It’s the first year ever we hit over the $2 billion mark in revenue.”

“We want to take our region to the next step, the next level, where will be hitting 10, 12, 14 million visitors.”

“To do that, we need to structurally change how we do business in the Hunter.”

The move comes after one of Hunter Valley’s biggest supporters operating three hotels in the region as well as NSW’s largest conference centre, (Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley Conference and Events Centre), Jerry Schwartz, announced new seaplane access from Sydney to the Hunter will commence this year.

Last month Schwartz also took on the baton to push for additional government funding for the region, claiming most infrastructure development is funded by local operators such as himself, rather than receiving suitable distributions. Schwartz also operates The Fairmont in NSW’s Blue Mountains, which also recently announced the closure of the Blue Mountains Lithgow and Oberon Tourism boards.