Yarrawonga Mulwala Tourism and Business (YMTB) is currently fighting for its survival after being notified by Moira Shire Council that they will not be renewing its contract to support the visitor service centre beyond June 30 this year.
In a letter sent to YMTB dated February 13, Moira Shire’s Acting Director Sustainable Communities Rosanne Kava outlined council’s reasoning behind the decision with a new model of visitor servicing, through a visitor information point network in businesses similar to what has been rolled out in Cobram and Numurkah in recent years.
“Rather than continue with the existing service delivery model as per our contract with you, we are moving to enhancing visitor servicing via the visitor information point model in Yarrawonga,” the letter stated.
YMTB Executive Officer Noel Wright said the Visitor Service Centre is more that just a service centre and “a different and larger beast” than what was in communities like Cobram and Numurkah.
“What we do here is extremely important for arguably the most important industry in our region.
“We offer that point of difference that other towns can’t, and this is evident with the thousands of visitors we service every month and on top of that what we do in the events space, supporting, sustaining and creating events which deliver millions of dollars into the economy every year.”
In fact, the YMTB service centre over the last seven months has averaged 5,000 walk-ins, well over 2,000 phone calls and 3,000 emails per month.
| Month | Walk ins | Calls | Daily calls | Emails | Daily emails |
| Jan’23 | 7,630 | 3,220 | 107 | 4,856 | 157 |
| Dec’22 | 4,900 | 3,540 | 114 | 3,900 | 126 |
| Nov’22 | 4,786 | 3,463 | 115 | 3,217 | 107 |
| Oct’22 | 4,349 | 1,600 | 52 | 3,726 | 120 |
| Sep’22 | 5,413 | 967 | 32 | 2,119 | 71 |
| Aug’22 | 3,690 | 985 | 32 | 2,137 | 69 |
| Jul’22 | 4,684 | 1,053 | 34 | 1,677 | 54 |
| Total | 35,452 | 14,828 | 21,632 |
Mr Wright said a meeting of YMTB board members, councillors and council staff last Thursday was positive and hoped further negotiations with council would deliver a workable option going forward.
“I trust councillors see the importance of what we do and the ramifications on tourism as a whole if we were to close the doors,” he said.
“Without council’s support of $225,000 per year we just can’t sustain the same model which has served us well over the last six years since the contract was committed and signed by council.
“In that time, it has given us the ability to utilise our staff skills and work tirelessly to create and sustain events such as the Lake Mulwala Rod Run, annual tennis tournaments partnering with Tennis Victoria including Country Week last week and the EC Griffith Cup and Yarrawonga Fair.
“These are just a few examples alone that have delivered well over an estimated $13 million in spending into the local economy in the last 12 months.
“It’s more than a cost on the balance sheet for Moira Shire Council, it’s an investment that delivers a multi-million dollar return for council and its ratepayers, creating more jobs and wealth in the local region.”
The letter from council also stated that from July, 1 2023, council proposes to provide direct funding to YMTB equal to that provided to other local tourism associations, of a mere $15,000 per annum on an agreed KPI basis.
“In addition, there will be substantial funds available for event support and funding to deliver events. YMTB, as a local tourism association and an experienced operator, will be eligible to apply for these funding opportunities as well as for other Moira Shire grants,” the letter stated.
Moira Shire Council Mayor Peter Lawless recognised that council needs to find the best outcome for tourism with YMTB.
“Last week, council met with representatives from Yarrawonga Mulwala Business and Tourism to discuss the nature of our partnership beyond the expiry of the visitor information services contract in June,” Mayor Lawless said.
“As we move forward, we recognise the importance of our collaboration with YMTB to ensure the best possible outcome for the future of tourism in Yarrawonga.”