Moree Plains Shire Council has shown its support for tourism in Moree, after councilors endorsed the Funding Agreement with Moree Tourism on Thursday.
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Councilors came together at the fortnightly meeting on Thursday to flesh out the Funding Agreement with Moree Tourism.
It was resolved that council would enter into a Funding Agreement with Moree Tourism for $485,000 (excl. GST), increasing for two per cent per annum for a period of four years, to operate Moree Visitor Information centre and promote and market Moree Plains Shire.
While councilor Greg Smith supports the Moree Tourism board, he was unwilling to commit to the initial 5 year period. He said $2.5 million was a big investment to make over that period, amid forecasts for a difficult economic climate.
Tourism Moree CEO Tammy Elbourne said she was pleased with the outcome.
“We’ve been in negotiations for the past nine to 10 months, and this is a process of obviously lining up our strategic direction with council’s plan and budget.
“This is a normal process that we go through every four to give years, to get the tourism funding agreement agreed on and signed.”
Moree Tourism board member Michelle Gobert took to the public forum at council meeting to reiterate the importance of tourism in Moree during the time of drought.
“Agriculture is the main industry, and tourism is number two. It’s important that the town attracts more visitors to prop up the economic climate. We need income to keep flowing in, to keep businesses in town functioning.”