Coffs Coast Tourism Strategy 2023
Public Exhibition has concluded
We invited the community to make a submission on the draft Strategy from 28 August to 29 September 2023.
This Strategy was endorsed by Council at its 23 November 2023 Meeting.
What is the purpose of the draft Strategy?
Tourism in the Coffs Coast is a $282.5 million industry, with potential for growth that contributes to sustainable economic development and community wellbeing.
Our Strategy is a five-year plan to guide decision making, and support and grow the vibrancy, diversity and resilience of the Coffs Coast visitor economy.
This is an industry-led strategic document that the City of Coffs Harbour (City) is the custodian of and largely responsible for delivering in conjunction with the local tourism industry.
Because of its importance as an economic driver, the tourism industry is one of the few sectors that councils get directly involved in through their role in supporting visitor information, marketing and promotion, infrastructure provision, regulation, and destination management.
Our Vision
We aim to promote and support the Coffs Coast as a premier regional visitor destination defined by a diversity of authentic experiences built on its ECO Destination status, natural features, iconic attractions, recreational, heritage and cultural assets and many sporting, entertainment and cultural events.
This is underpinned by actions to attract high-yield visitors - a 'value over volume' approach - and ensure tourism is valued by the community.
How do we deliver Visitor Information?
1.3 Million people visited the Coffs Coast in 2022, and an average of 270,000 people visit the Coffs Coast destination website every year.
The City provides visitor information to meet modern user preferences - before and during their visits. We offer 7 Visitor Information Outlets which are face-to-face, a dedicated phone line, the Coffs Coast website, social media and messenger service, and 70+ map/brochure points across the Coffs coast within a 2-hour radius. In addition, we supply information and resources to visitor economy businesses so they can deliver up-to-date information to their customers.
This model has been used since the stand-alone Visitor Information Centre (VIC) in Coffs City Centre (and later at the Big Banana) was closed in 2017. Current foot traffic data shows an average of 14,060 visits across the 7 sites annually (around 1% of visitors), while the old VIC serviced just over 9,640 visitors annually at the time of closure.
In 2017 it cost $300,000 per year to run the stand-alone VIC. It now costs the City $28,000 a year to support the 7 Visitor Information Outlet sites which are strategically located across the LGA.
Have your say
We invite your feedback on the Key Focus Area actions (pages 14 -18) of the Draft Tourism Strategy saved in the 'Documents' section of this HYS page:
- Tourism Marketing, Visitor Information and Branding
- Tourism Asset and Infrastructure Planning
- Festivals and Events
- Visitor Economy Business Support and Development.
Submissions have now closed.
