Part 1 - Shire of Ashburton

Shire of Ashburton Tourism Strategy
January 20111
7.7.4 Special Events
The staging of major special events has the ability to produce a wide range of significant economic and
social benefits for communities and
regions, and
is considered a major promotional tool for successful
tourism destination development. Special events increase the opportunities for new
expenditure within a
host region by attracting visitors to that destination and by also retaining the expenditure of locals who
may have spend their leisure dollars
elsewhere. Special events can also strongly influence both day trip and
overnight visitation and
have been used successfully to attract visitors during the quieter or shoulder
periods of a tourist season.
As well as providing opportunities to
increase direct visitor expenditure
at a destination, they can also
contribute substantially
to a destination’s range
of tourist attractions, facilitate media coverage for the
destination,
promote awareness of the destination for future visitation and lead to the construction of new
facilities and infrastructure. Staging major special events can
be a major
economic driver for the
Shire of
Ashburton and it is recommended that two major special events be established and staged annually
thereafter. A major special event is defined as possessing the capability to attract significant number of
visitors from
outside the
region and
is more than just a local festival, it must possesss this “substantial
drawing power”.
The management committee of the
Pannawonica Robe River Rodeo are
to
be congratulated on the
successful operation of
their special event for the
past 15 years. This is a good example of how a special event
can deliver
benefit to a local destination.
Robe River Rodeo ‐ Pannawonica
It is recommended that the Shire take an active role in establishing two key special events and assist in the
coordination of these on an annual basis. It is suggested that one major event be staged in each of the
Shire’s two main tourism
destinations; that is one within the
Karijini destination and
one within the Onslow
(or Pilbara coastal region). As suggestions;
- Karijini region; Music festival with major headline acts (Australian country, Indigenous, or classical
themes), or music event staged within Karijini NP ( could be low
volume high yield event)
- Onslow; reinvigorate the outback Onslow racetrack facility, Onslow Race Round (Chevron Cup)
It is recommended that the Shire establish specific special event committees inviting/comprisingg relevant
local industry/stakeholders. It would
be these management
committees
that finally determine scale, scope
and theme of final events. Developing a major hallmark event with substantial “pulling power” should be
an underlying objective and ideally should be staged in typical shoulder visitor periods.
Onslow Racing Track – opportunity to stage “outback race meet”
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