Lack Of Vision Has Illawarra Lagging: Tourism Chief
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday November 20, 2007
THE Illawarra was being left behind other Australian tourist destinations because of under-investment and a lack of vision, the region's tourism head said yesterday.
Speaking at a function organised by The Illawarra Property Council, Tourism Wollongong chairman Jim Eddy said the city was the nation's ninth largest, but frequently trailed other places across the nation in most measures of tourism success.Top of Mr Eddy's list of three key issues to be addressed was the lack of an adequate convention or entertainment centre. Mr Eddy said the absence of a 1500-seat facility was preventing the city from realising its tourism potential.With a new concert hall, he said, Wollongong would have the capacity to absorb two new hotels with a capacity for between 200 and 500 beds.To back up his claim he pointed to figures which showed Wollongong was one of only two among the nation's 15 most populous cities which did not include a convention centre.Second on his list was the expansion of the Illawarra airport, which Mr Eddy said needed to be renovated to cater for the growing regional airline market.The airport needed to handle A320 and 727 planes commonly used by regional carriers.The airport's facilities were not far off the mark and, with a little work, could be expanded to cater for regional carriers."If it is done, we become a serious choice for low cost airlines to come from Sydney," he said.The third issue was completion of the Blue Mile proposal and Grand Pacific Drive initiative. Mr Eddy said those strategies were well underway and likely to be completed, but nevertheless were integral to boosting tourist numbers.Wollongong also lagged behind, at 13th, in terms of international visitors.
© 2007 Illawarra Mercury
