Client: Livingstone Regional Council with partnership support of Capricorn Tourism.
Objectives: to develop the current economic impact of events and develop strategies to increase the return on investment for council for current events and attracting destination aligned major events.
Project included
The development of the plan including consultation with event industry facilitated workshops, internal meetings within council to ensure cross-departmental input and implementation of plan, elected council officials and tabled council meeting, face-to-face meetings with strategic partners and sponsors. Follow-up online surveying was undertaken with the wider tourism and event support and services sector and local community.
Consultation helped to create collective vision, key priorities and capacity building requirements for industry to take events and the region into the future.
An audit of existing event infrastructure, green spaces and visitor economy capacity provided identification of event infrastructure needs for growth.
National benchmarking with other local government authorities was completed to clarify council resourcing.
Current economic impact of events was undertaken and comparison of projected 5 year economic impact with current events. We then projected economic impact for the region with the additional attraction of a major event for the region.
Building on the Capricorn Coasts’ unique selling points and destination offerings.
Hierarchy of events with categories and aligned funding and resourcing allocation recommendations and clarity of the role of council in events and her strategic partners.
Outcomes
The strategy provides clear strategic focus for the council with a 5 year Action Plan.
Officially endorsed and adopted by Livingstone Shire Council with official media and industry launch.
Short-term outcomes have included the development of multi-year funding agreements and council policy alignment for events that meet clear criteria developed in the strategy, resulting in long-term strategic planning for major events within the shire.
