Looking to unlock rural tourism

Bass Coast Shire Council is seeking feedback on its draft Unlocking Rural Tourism Strategy.

The Bass Coast Unlocking Rural Tourism Strategy, also known as BURT, seeks to enable sustainable tourism development in appropriately located rural areas and assist with the ongoing recovery of our tourism sector from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Strategy examines real and perceived barriers to investment and where appropriate, recommends their removal. It has been developed in response to feedback from various sectors of the community that has noted that the current controls in the planning scheme are insufficient to effectively manage tourism proposals outside of townships.

Bass Coast Shire Mayor, Cr Michael Whelan said that the Strategy recommends changes to the planning scheme and other processes to help grow the local tourism industry.

“We want to hear from the community on our draft Strategy to make sure it meets their expectations and needs in order to make rural tourism ventures more accessible and achievable,” Cr Whelan said.

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