- Published:
- Friday 27 November 2015
The Minister for Regional Development Jaala Pulford inspected progress on a major revitalisation project for one of Warrnambool’s key tourist attractions – the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village.
In Warrnambool today to attend a Regional Partnerships Forum, Minister Pulford toured the maritime village’s recently completed restaurant and new visitor information centre.
The Victorian Government has provided $1,950,000 to Warrnambool Shire Council towards the $2,950,000 project, which will:
- Upgrade the day and night experiences with a focus on increasing repeat visitation to the night experience with redesigned and upgraded light and laser multimedia showcasing the stories of the shipwreck coast
- Re-configure the main building reception and visitor information centre into one space
- Restaurant upgrades
- Improve access around the village - including pathways, improved use of multi-lingual technologies
- Consolidate the heritage boat fleet to focus on vessels with a historical significance to the south west of Victoria
- Increase the ability for the site to be used for a multiple range of functions and events.
The project is prompting economic growth and development of the local region by injecting $3 million into the local economy; retaining 14.5 existing jobs, and creating 7.5 construction jobs, and 18 indirect jobs in the local region.
Capitalising on the region’s competitive strength in tourism the village attracts around 7 million visitors per year, contributes to 7,000 jobs and has a direct economic output of $1.1 billion per year.
In the recently launched Regional Statement, the Government announced a number of new initiatives that will help build stronger, more resilient and more prosperous communities.
A key initiative in the Statement is a commitment to develop a pipeline of the ten most significant regional tourism projects to ensure the projects are delivered for the benefit of regional economies and communities.
The Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village revitalisation project aligns with the government’s commitment to fully realise the economic potential of the State’s iconic tourism assets.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Regional Development, Jaala Pulford
“Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village has been part of the Warrnambool community for the past 40 years. The Andrews Labor Government is proud to help this major attraction to remain viable and maintain its rich regional heritage.”
“As outlined in Victoria’s Regional Statement, this government is committed to supporting the ten most significant regional tourism projects to ensure we deliver project with the greatest benefit for regional economies and communities."