The Cootamundra Tourism Action Group (CTAG) is set to look for ways to improve the Wattle Time Festival’s appeal to tourists.
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The CTAG has been re-invigorated following the merger of Cootamundra and Gundagai councils with delegate Councillor Leigh Bowden encouraging the group to find ways to attract more visitors.
The group have developed an extensive list of ideas, however it's not about taking the festival off the Cootamundra Community Development Committee, but working to add more to it.
Cr Bowden said one idea being considered was to focus on a “festival of wheels” given Cootamundra’s two bicycle clubs, two car clubs and extensive history with the railway (and steel wheels).
“There’s lots of really good ideas and the community will hopefully drive an idea to work with Wattle Time to add to the event,” she said.
“We want to work on something to improve an existing event, not create something different.”
Cr Bowden said the enthusiasm of the group had been good so far but would eventually need to become a committee to help drive the ideas to fruition.
"It’s not just about ideas but about developing and implementing the ideas with the help of council,” she said.
Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council will back the tourism group’s efforts through helping with grant and funding applications, but the most of the work would have to be done by residents.
“The community interest has been fantastic, they’ve been expressing their interest and sharing ideas they have,” council’s interim development and community director Chris Imrie said.
“We hope we can find some office bearers to drive the committee so that it achieves its goals,” he said.
Cr Bowden said the tourism group was invited to meet with the Gundagai’s Tourism Action Committee to learn from their experiences in the next few weeks. The CTAG will meet on April 19 in the Stephen Ward Rooms.