Inquiry into Rural and Regional Tourism

Contents

On 15 March 2007 the Rural and Regional Committee of the Parliament of Victoria received a terms of reference to inquire into rural and regional tourism.

The reference requires the all-party Committee to inquire into, consider and report on:

• the economic benefits of tourism in regional areas, including flow-on benefits to other regional businesses and industry;
• potential impediments to the sustained growth of regional tourism, economic activity and jobs;
• the effectiveness of current programs to promote and enhance tourism in regional Victoria;
• initiatives to increase international and domestic visitors to regional Victoria;
• the effectiveness of measures to address the short and long term effects of natural events such as bushfires, floods and drought on regional tourism; and
• opportunities to increase private and commercial investment in regional tourism infrastructure and ecotourism.
  

The Committee announced that it was seeking submissions from the public for this inquiry in April 2007. The deadline for submissions was Friday 1 June. Please refer to the inquiry submissions page and the media release for further information.

The Committee held public hearings throughout 2007 and 2008 - please refer to the Public Hearings page for more information.

On 30 July 2008, the Final Report of the Inquiry into Rural and Regional Tourism was tabled in the Legislative Council by Committee Chair Damian Drum MLC, and in the Legislative Assembly by Committee Member Kirstie Marshall MP.

Region-specific media releases were sent shortly after tabling, followed by a press conference, specially convened by the Committee Chair.

The Government has six months in which to table a response to the Committee's Final Report.