It has received the Local Economic Contribution prize at the 2019 Local Government Excellence Awards, just months after taking out gold at the NSW Regional Tourism Awards.
The campaign was developed with funding received by Edward River Council through a business levy, which was complemented by funds from Destination NSW.
Mayor Norm Brennan credited the campaign with helping to boost visitation to Deniliquin by using a variety of marketing mediums tailored to focus on key visitor experiences across each of the its target markets.
“The Visit Deni campaign has gone from strength to strength over the past few years, putting Deniliquin and the wider Edward River region on the map, and we’re thrilled that our efforts have been recognised through this award,” Cr Brennan said.
“The campaign has proved to be enormously successful in promoting Deniliquin and the Edward River region as an attractive family holiday and water sports destination, particularly to our key target markets in Melbourne, Ballarat, Bendigo and Shepparton,” he said.
“While originally designed as an intensive two-year campaign, running from December 2016 to May 2018, council has been very impressed with the results we’re seeing and are working closely with local tourism operators to continue the campaign.”
General Manager, Adam McSwain, acknowledged the Edward River Promotions Advisory Committee members for providing strategic guidance to council’s staff involved in delivering the campaign.
“We are fortunate to have a dedicated and innovative Community and Economic Development team who are passionate about working collaboratively with our local businesses, tourism operators and industry bodies to promote all the exciting visitor experiences our region has to offer,” Mr McSwain said.
“Edward River Council beat several other very strong finalists, including metropolitan and regional councils, for this award, and that’s a real credit to the energy and enthusiasm with which our staff have implemented this campaign,” he said.
“We’re looking forward to continuing the Visit Deni campaign over the coming financial year and have allocated funding in our 2019/20 Budget to undertake further tourism promotions initiatives, including developing a three-year tourism strategy, producing new promotional content for the Visit Deni website and publishing a new visitor guide.”
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