Welcome to this week’s editorial,
Another week of interesting news that sees a greater focus on Eurobodalla and our tourism . REX Airlines announced today that they will be adding further flights to the Moruya– Sydney route and also introducing community fares that will well service our local needs and also help our tourism industry by seeing an influx of travellers using the service to gain access to the south east. While many who arrive come independently there is a new wave of traveller coming through from South East Asia and the Sub Continent who enjoy the luxury of leaving the organisation of itineraries, accommodation and the driving and navigation to someone else. We already have some niche providers on the south coast able to provide top of the line customisable trips that collect and return international guests to their arrival or departure cities. The south coast is able to provide world class quality accommodation and with the arrival of internationally recognised chefs to the region we are now better placed to provide visitors with world class cuisine, especially when we showcase our local produce. Add to that the experiences of scenic flights, whale watching, world class kayaking and walking tours and the pure nature we have on hand with 83 beaches and a 110 km near empty coastline and you have the perfect blend that is gaining the attention of a visitor to Australia who is looking for more than the gold coast, the cliched and the over crowded. One of our local niche holiday companies, South Coast Adventure Tours, recently hosted Chinese Social media Mega-star Amy Lyons during her visit to the Eurobodalla coast organising a custom made and fun filled itinerary of local sights. Come on a quick tour with Amy as she discovers the Nature Coast with South Coast Adventure Tours. Although relatively new to the Chinese social media scene, Ms Lyons has almost 65,000 followers in China already. Her online videos, mostly about travel and fitness, have had millions of views, with her most popular video watched more than 3 million times this year.
The video ( http://bit.ly/2fELCMc ) she made while in Eurobodalla (in Mandarin and in English) will gain the attention of an audience the size of which we have never seen before. With flights now coming into Canberra from Singapore and the links being established from Melbourne and Sydney to the Eurobodalla it is not at all unusual to see overseas travellers on the coast .
Australia welcomed 8.5 million international visitors in the year ending June 2017, up 8.9%. And those International visitors spent a record $40.6 billion in the year ending June 2017, up 7%. These are switched on travellers. They want to experience Australia, the nature of our coastline, our food and our hospitality. We are fortunate to have an a base of quality that we can deliver however there is always room for improvement. With no other real industry on the coast other than tourism we have a golden opportunity to use our natural resources to their best that brings employment and investment. Let’s get it right
Until next, lei
