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... ' ' ..... TOURISM ·IN EAST GIPPSLAND Report prepared for the Ministry for Planning and Environment .. ,. ·.' .·. ' .. I • • Deni Greerie · 15 April .. 1987 \ I I I I I I I 1 ~ I I I I I I I I I I I I r. ~l ;I I ')I. I 1· ~I I :. .. i .. I TOURISM IN EAST GIPPSLAND Report prepared for the Ministry for Planning .1 and Environment :Ii"" - - I ·1 Deni Greene ·1 15 April 1987 I I I I I . ·---" ,, .MINISTRY FO!? PLANNINei · AND ENViRONMmT LIBRARY I !i'J ., .. --·--···--.-.. -- --- -----· ..... __ ....... ·- I I e TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I Pref ace 1 Introduction 2 I Current and Projected Levels of Tourism 4 East Gippsland as a Tourist Attraction 6 I Tourist Markets Origin of Visitors 9 .,.·:··. Approaches to Increasing Tourism 10 ,:~ : /" I Banks Research on Market Segments 11 Tourist Facilities and Services Introduction 12 I Information 13 Maintenance 17 Access 18 I Accommodation 19 Tourist Facilities 21 Activities 22 I Future Planning for East Gippsland Private Land Issues 25 Towns of East Gippsland 26 I Multiple Use Conflicts 28 Future Development Opportunities 31 I Conclusion 34 Appendix 1. Traffic Counts for East Gippsland Roads Appendix 2. Victorian Tourism Commission Analysis of Target Markets I for Gippsland Lakes Tourism Appendix 3. Tourist Materials for East Gippsland I Appendix 4.·south Australian Brochures on Parks I Appendix 5. Wilderness Society Brochure on Lyell Highway, Tasmania Appendix 6. Concern about Bairnsdale ~ Orbost Rail Service I I I I I .I I •- - '- • •"•"• - - ~·r • - " •"• .,._ "•·•·'•". • .._._._ ••••• , •• •.·-~·..- • •• I 1 I I PREFACE The information in this report was gathered through personal interviews and review of printed material during I the six weeks from 1 March to 15 April, 1987. This period coincides with the initial stages of work toward a Far East Gippsland Tourism Strategy by the Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands, the Department of I Industry, Technology and Resources and the Ministry for Planning and Environment. As the development of a Tourism Strategy is not intended to be complete until · I August 1987, the information in the attached report should be considered as an input· to the Tourism Strategy, :. " I not as a definitive document in its.own right. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 2 I INTRODUCTION I The Government has committed itself to a number of activities related to economic development and employment creation in East Gippsland. This commitment responds to the need for broadening the economic base of the area and I for replacing jobs that will be . lost in the timber industry as a result of reducing timber harvesting to I sustainable levels and of creating new parks. The Ea,st Gippsland Regional Employment and Economic i: Development Committee, based in Orbost, was established I in 1986 to look at the full range of economic development possibilities. It has recently prepared a draft tourism framework, which will be available for public review for I a period of two months. More recently, work was begun on a Tourism Strategy by a project team involving the Department of Conservation, I Forests and Lands ( CFL), the Department of Industry, Technology and Resources (DITR) and the Ministry for Planning and Environment (MPE). The CFL representative I has been Eddie Beacham, DITR representatives are Bernie Ebbs from the Victorian .Tourism Commission and Tony Claridge from the South East Coast Tourism Corporation, and MPE representative has been Deni Greene. The project I team has hired a ·research officer, Jenny Cristofaro to work in Orbost gathering data for the Tourism. Strategy. I The Tourism Strategy for East Gippsland will cover an area somewhat larger than the LCC Study Area. The western boundary for the Strategy · area runs from Lake I Tyers to the New South Wales border. It therefore includes the towns of Nowa Nowa and Buchan. The Project Team currently refers to the effort as the Far East Gippsland Tourism .Study, but in this report, I have used I the simpler designation of East Gippsland. Initial work has involved preparation of an inventory of I tourist facilities, services and points of attraction in the area. Scheduled completion date for the Tourism Strategy is August 1987. By this date, the project team I intends to have identified several specific projec~s·for implementation in both the short and medium (up to 5 years) term. I This report is therefore being prepared at a very early stage in the work of the project team. I I I I -I e 3 I The recommendations and suggestions in the report have not been discussed or evaluated by the project team. The information about East Gippsland sites and facilities has I been gathered . through . interviews with · persons knowledgeable about the area and is, hopefully, accurate, but there has been insufficient time for personal verification or evaluation of many of the sites. i\Juch I more thorough inspection of the areas should be ·I undertake.Ii before any final recommendations are made. I I I : .. : l .. I I I I I I I ·I I I I I ·.· ·. ·.: . ·.· ...· ......... I 4 I CURRENT AND PROJECTED LEVELS OF TOURISM I As part of its review of public land in East Gippsland, the Land Conservation Council (LCC) conunissioned the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research I (NIEIR) to undertake a socio-economic study of the area, which was completed in· August 1985, and to evaluate the effect of the LCC's Proposed Reconunendations on economic and employment conditions. The report on the latter I study was published in June 1986. A subordinate report entitled "Aspects of the East Gippsland Tourism ; : I Industry", was prepared in March 1986. The NIEIR studies identified tourism as the third most important industry in East Gippsland, after timber and I agriculture/fishing. They estimated that in 1985 ·there were a total of 120 to 130 fulltime annual equivalent jobs in the tourism industry out of a total employment of 1108 to 1118 full time annual equivalent jobs in E.ast I The tourism industry employment figure Gippsland. ! . includes relevant government employees (26 full time I annual equivalent jobs). NIEIR estimated that tourism in East Gippsland is growing at about 4 to 5 percent per year with a higher growth I rate ( 7 to 8 percent) in coastal areas. It conditioned its projections for future growth on development of further tourism facilities. I In the 1986 report evaluating the LCC Proposed Reconunendations, NIEIR stated, "This figure could be exceeded as the proposed Errinundra National Park and I Snowy River National Park extensions could prove to be substantial attractions (particularly if well promoted and with improved access and facilities)". The report I also states, "The LCC proposals are necessary to the achievement of this growth, though they are not the only necessary element in its achievement (e.g. promotion, further subdivision, appropriate. infrastructure works, I such as water supply and r_oads, are also needed). Considerable data exists on some of the indices of I tourism in East Gippsland, namely visits to National Par.ks and use of campgrounds. NIEIR published some of this data, but it is expected that as part of the research for the Tourism Strategy, a more comprehensive I suinmary will be prepared. Some traffic counts have been · undertaken by the Road I Construction Authority, and those for the years 1984, 1985 and 1986 are included in Appendix 1 to this report. As the bulk of the counts occurred in March, with most of I the rest in June or July, they are of limited value in estimating tourist traffic during prime holiday periods. I I • -·~ "">.•:· .·-:-. ".'. ·. _.,. · ..· ... -:-· ;·>: --:- .... .·-:·· :.· ·:-' ·.,._ • ·-·· -. ..... ·.·.~.· ..· ·............ - ·.. ·:-.·.·.-...... ~ .· ......... •..... ' ...·.··. I 5 I e The report from a stationary counter located on the Princes Highway_ East at Cann River from September 1985 I until June 1986 is somewhat more useful, except that it omits. the key Christmas period . from 10 December to 16 January. As ·would be expected, traffic is greatest during the months of January and February. The peak day I measured was Saturday, 18 January, when 4220 cars were counted during the 24 hours from midnight to midnight~ Outside of January and February, there is a smaller peak I in May. It would obviously be useful to have con~istent traffic counts measured at key locations during the times which I correspond to holiday periods. As part of the Tourism Strategy wor·k, a program for such monitoring should be designed in co-operation with the Road Cons~ruction I Authority. I !·.: I ! .. I I I I I I I I I ·I . , I ·.,• .. ·:···:···:··.: .·. ·.·. :·········::· .. .~:-··:- ... ·.:-:····. ··.·. :-: . .. ·. -.-:·.· ~ ::··~ .... ·::-=··· ........... -~-.- -.-.-.. -... ·-:-·- .. ·:·:- ··:·· . .,:-·: I 6 I EAST GIPPSLJ.ND AS A TOURIST ATTRACTION The main attractions of the East Gippsland area are the I natural features of the area: coastlines, forests, mountains, rivers and waterfalls. Clearly, any tourism strategy for· the area has to be built around these I features. Many aspects of the natural attractions of East Gippsland are very sensitive and require very careful treatment. Some areas, such as the wilderness I areas of Coopracambra, parts of the Snowy River region, and sections of the coast, would lose much of their value '• lj large numbers of visitors began to use I, as wilderness if ,·t·,. them. Some areas couid be vulnerable to environmental I destruction. Insensitive development could easily reduce the attractiveness of most of the natural areas of East Gippsland. The need for careful and integrated planning I of both public and private land cannot be stressed too strongly. More discussion of this subject is included in the section of this report covering Future Planning for I East Gippsland. Because most people will want to come to East Gippsland to visit the natural attractions of the area, the I activities planned for visitors should be based on seeing and enjoying those natural features.