ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY
S P E C I A L F E AT U R E
2017
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Awards Excellence
FOR
WINNERS AND FINALISTS
The 2017 National Economic Development Awards
for Excellence winners were announced at the
Gala Dinner held at the historic O’Collins Hall, St
Patrick’s Cathedral, Ballarat as part of the 2017
National Economic Development Conference on
October 12, 2017. The Awards Dinner was also an
opportunity to celebrate the 10th anniversary of
Economic Development Australia.
Congratulations to all the finalists and winners
whose success is evidence of the innovative
economic development programs transforming
Australian communities.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT –
MARKETING & PROMOTION
market conditions, easily updated and adjusted,
based on progress made or agreed changes to
priorities. It is data driven, utilising industry standard
Tourism Research Australia and Australian Bureau
of Statistics figures and publicly available research
from Tourism and Events Queensland.
Since its adoption, Ipswich has moved from being
almost non-existent in the tourism marketplace to
achieving one of the highest increases in domestic
overnight holiday visitation in the state. This has led
to substantial new investment from industry, Council
and State Government.
It has absolutely changed the way the Ipswich
tourism industry engages and operates.
WINNER FINALIST
Ipswich City Council and a group of local tourism
operators believed their region had the potential
to double its visitor economy within three years
through greater collaboration and improved
destination marketing. Would a shopper spend $30 in a great city centre
business for a chance to become a millionaire? This
was the proposition posed by the Immerse Yourself
in Warrnambool City Centre campaign.
IPSWICH CITY COUNCIL
“Ipswich Destination Marketing”
They developed the Ipswich Destination Marketing,
Management and Events Plan, putting in place
a new destination positioning and agreed set of
measurable priorities and actions to achieve strong
and sustainable growth for the Ipswich visitor
economy.
The Plan is focused on the region’s hero
characteristics and values and uses the most current
data and industry analysis to create a framework for
the city and industry to coordinate efforts and build
resources towards shared actions and outcomes.
The new model is purposely reliant on the
commitment of the core collaborators, keeping
the focus on the agreed 10 Priority Actions. It is
designed as a living plan, adaptable to changing
WARRNAMBOOL CITY COUNCIL
“Immerse Yourself”
Created by Warrnambool City Council the ‘Immerse
Yourself’ $1 million promotion was a plank in
Council’s business support package to assist
Warrnambool CBD businesses through a once-in-a-
generation renewal of the city centre.
The aim was to stimulate activity and trade by creating
a competition, an incentive to come to the city centre
while construction crews went about the challenging
task of turning Warrnambool’s commercial heart into a
public space that met 21st century expectations.
Council had pledged to support businesses while
roads and footpaths were being demolished
and replaced and while ageing underground
infrastructure was upgraded.
Using a modest allocation of the financial support
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