August 31, 2018 Minister blows apart Margaret River Gourmet Escape The McGowan Labor Government has taken a wrecking ball to another premier tourism attraction in Western Australia, dumping the Margaret River Gourmet Escape Event in favour of a watered-down event spread over three locations. The State Government will announce tomorrow that the 2018 Margaret River Gourmet Escape will be the last, to be replaced with an event held across three locations – Margaret River, Perth and the Swan Valley. Shadow Tourism Minister Libby Mettam said the dilution and disbursement of the iconic Margaret River Gourmet Escape – a brand that had taken seven years to develop – to three different locations was another blow for an industry struggling with a downward spiral in visitor spend. “The McGowan Government has wasted an opportunity to develop three separate tourism events spread over the year to highlight and capitalise on the three unique destinations,” Ms Mettam said. “Instead, the Tourism Minister has trashed an internationally recognised brand, that underpins the region’s significant wine export industry, in favour of a cobbled together, watered-down metro-centric event that completely short sells the State’s tourism offering. “This isn’t creating additional spend, it’s just spreading existing spend thinly over three regions.” Ms Mettam said dumping such an iconic and successful brand defied all marketing logic and was symptomatic of a rudderless and directionless Department of Tourism. “Once again, I call on the State Government to appoint a dedicated CEO to the Department of Tourism to give it the expertise and direction it clearly needs,” Ms Mettam said. “Making this decision at a time when international visitor spend is down 8 per cent and interstate visitor spend is down $140 million, against growth in every other state, highlights this Minister’s incompetence. “It’s well known that when you encourage international visitors to the regions, they stay longer and spend more.” Ms Mettam said the announcement was particularly disappointing for Margaret River tourism operators. “Despite our out-of-touch Tourism Minister dismissing the Margaret River Gourmet Escape as fluffy brand awareness and just a holiday for celebrity chefs, it is a world-class event with an international reputation and to dilute that brand is short-sighted,” Ms Mettam said. “It’s yet another blow to the Margaret River region which is still trying to deal with the impact of the cancellation of the Margaret River Pro and the uncertainty around that event’s future. “I also believe tourism operators in the Swan Valley would also prefer the Government support a standalone event that celebrates the region’s reputation as one of the State’s oldest wine regions.” Ends |
