Following a recent shake-up of NSW Tourism, new groupings of tourism networks have been formed and the council is developing a unifying vision for tourism in the region. The consultants, Destination Marketing Store, are engaged to develop a tourism plan and facilitate community consultation.

The workshops were held in Queanbeyan, Bungendore and Braidwood for interested parties to contribute ideas and aspirations on how the region could be more attractive to target markets, to increase visitor numbers and grow the tourism economy.

Twenty one people attended the Braidwood workshop at the Club on Wednesday evening, including representative from the council and Braidwood & Villages Tourism Association.

It was roundly agreed that heritage had to be front and centre of marketing Braidwood. Other issues discussed included amount and the distribution of accommodation, main street appearance, off street parking and the need to simplify online information about Braidwood. The NSW plan is to create linked tourism websites to simplify visitor experience.

The tourism plan will identify actionable strategies to provide guidance on priorities in the short, medium and long term for visitor services, target marketing, experience and product development, destination development and partnership opportunities.