Fresh off the back of the successful Narooma Oyster Festival, tourism leaders from Eurobodalla and the Sapphire Coast have unveiled plans to work together on a new cross-region oyster trail experience.
The idea was announced at the second tourism industry forum, held at Narooma Golf Club on Tuesday 5 May, bringing together tourism operators, businesses and industry representatives from across the South Coast.
Eurobodalla's visitor economy manager Andrew Sargant said the vision was to establish Eurobodalla and the Sapphire Coast as a flagship oyster tourism destination.
"A single, connected Oyster Trail across both regions to attract high-yield visitation from Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra will also provide a unified South Coast voice for advocacy and investment," Mr Sargant said.
And it won't stop at food experiences, Mr Sargant continued: "It's about using oysters as the vehicle to bring people to visit, stay and play."
"There's a lot of noise out there competing for people's attention, so it's going to take a really good story to cut through the clutter.
"And what better story than oysters? It's a sustainable industry we're proud of, with strong connections to food, hospitality and memorable visitor experiences.
"By working together, we can deliver more business to more businesses."
Sapphire Coast Destination Marketing manager Ryce Treloar said Sapphire Coast's existing oyster trail had already shown strong demand.
"We've had an oyster trail on our website for the past three years and it's captured around 10,000 unique visitors clicking through to businesses," Mr Treloar said.
"Coming together, Eurobodalla and Sapphire Coast can really pack a punch and create something bigger than we could individually."
The forum also highlighted how local businesses are already embracing creative oyster-inspired experiences.
North of Eden owner Gavin Hughes shared how memorable moments connect visitors emotionally with a destination.
He spoke about offering visitors a "shelley" - after eating an oyster, guests are served a vodka shot in the shell. He also shared the story behind the distillery's award-winning oyster gin, which uses around 800 recycled oyster shells during the distillation process.
The Breakwall Brewing team also spoke about their limited-edition red oyster lager brewed specially for this year's oyster festival.
Closing the evening, Renee Pearce of Narooma Rocks talked about the success of the 2026 Narooma Oyster Festival. She said it attracted more than 10,000 attendees and saw more than 66,000 oysters consumed across the festival weekend.
Dates for next year's festival have already been locked in for 7-9 May 2027.
