Victorian State Visitor Economy Masterplan

Episteme was engaged by TRC Tourism to co-lead the delivery of the Victorian Visitor Economy Masterplan for the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions in 2021. This was a mammoth effort for a state in lockdown - in terms of the delivery of the project but also for the stakeholders who were in the thick of so many challenges to lift their eyes to a ten year horizon.

We were commissioned to deliver a world-leading, brave Masterplan with regenerative principles that coordinated a diverse and dispersed industry into a coordinated effort. We spoke with over a hundred people during this process - individually, through group consultations and workshops. We engaged with regional tourism organisations, representatives from airports, rail, accommodation, hospitality, attractions, boards, first nations representatives, regenerative thinkers and technology developers among many others to widely and deeply consider the best directions for the Victorian Visitor Economy as it rebuilds from the pandemic. We learnt about so many fascinating and exciting projects on the horizon, with my particular favourite being the Great Victorian Bathing Trail, developed by Matt Sykes - who is also working to deliver a swimmable Birrarurung - Yarra River. I hope these and many other projects will be enabled by the value creation framework we developed for the State through this plan.

The Masterplan is being published as a live document through an updatable, interactive website. It is currently with the Department to build this and we look forward to seeing it come out to industry in 2022.