Eurobodalla Shire Council and the Eurobodalla Visitor Economy Advisory Committee have kicked off a new era of collaboration with the first Tourism Industry Forum at the Bay Pavilions on Monday 10 November.
Mayor Mathew Hatcher said the event marked a milestone for Eurobodalla's tourism sector.
"I've lived here for two decades and never have I seen an event like this for industry - it was truly special," he said.
"The turnout, the speakers and the energy in the room were incredible. Our tourism team put together a world class night, and the feedback from operators was overwhelming."
More than 150 operators from all over the shire and beyond gathered to hear from national and state tourism leaders, share local insights and spark new conversations about growth, innovation and visitor experience.
The forum is the first major initiative of the Visitor Economy Advisory Committee, which aims to supercharge collaboration, knowledge sharing and collective action across the region.
VEAC Chair Garry Sullivan said the committee is built on a simple belief - working together, we can achieve more.
"Our theme is 'Eurobodalla Rising' and our goal is to grow the collective pie; the opportunities are already here and when the economy is doing well, everyone benefits. As the saying goes…A rising tide lifts all boats."
The forum opened with an Artificial Intelligence session featuring hands-on demos. There were plenty of questions, note-taking and lightbulb moments about how AI could help day-to-day business operations.
Then came the main course - an impressive lineup of keynote speakers from Destination NSW, Visit Canberra and Tourism Australia. In between, local operators took the mic to share their latest innovations and challenges.
These moments sparked conversations across the room. Belinda Dorsett at Mossy Café asked how residents could be encouraged to better support tourism.
"How can we get residents to understand what tourism brings to the area so they can be an advocate too," she asked the room.
Destination NSW Chief Executive Karen Jones responded to the question during her talk, saying that pointing to the facts can often change minds.
"Tourism injects $104.2 million into Eurobodalla each year - that's a powerful message when talking about investment in regional experiences," she said.
Ms Jones highlighted the strength of regional tourism and the need to lift visitor experiences, mentioning major events like the Narooma Oyster Festival and Sea Otter Australia as key opportunities to increase visitor spend and profile.
She also spoke to the challenge of filling the 150,000 tourism jobs required over the next decade, urging operators to champion tourism as a long-term career pathway.
The evening wrapped up with local food, stories and plenty of mingling, as operators kept the conversations rolling.
Eurobodalla Shire Council's visitor economy manager Andrew Sargant said the forum signalled a clear direction.
"This is the start of a more connected and confident tourism industry. We have the ideas, the talent and the appetite for collaboration," he said.
"Now it's about working together to lift the visitor experience and grow the whole region."
