By Staff Writer

The Cultural Ministers Council’s statistics working group has published a practical guide for cultural and tourism officers in order to help them better identify and seize the growth potential in their regions.

The report, Crafting Regional Growth, is presented in a two-day workshop format covering seven sessions focusing on cultural asset and economic value evaluation, local government implications, as well as innovation strategies.

Specifically developed for the regional tourism sector and community groups, the kit incorporates statistical backgrounds, case studies, survey forms and economic models that can be utilised for analysing and refining initiatives to boost the tourism industry.

Following the steps recommended in the report, users will learn the skills to conduct a cultural asset audit, perform an analysis identifying clusters and themes for a specific destination, run a business survey and use the tourism impact model to appraise the contribution of cultural tourism to the outcomes of the model.

The group’s previous study has found a total of 21.8 million international and domestic visitors engaged in a cultural activity while travelling in Australia each year between 1998 and 2001, spending nearly 18 billion a year during the period.

“Statistics tell us that cultural assets by themselves are insufficient to support a cultural tourism sector,” the report said.

“Cultural assets need to be identified and traded on…through their contribution to visitor experiences that ultimately lead to income for businesses in accommodation, tours, transport, food and beverage and attraction sector.

 “There is no way to guarantee the success of any innovation. There is always risk involved in change, but there is usually greater risk involved in avoiding it,” it said.

The report can be viewed here.