**Check against delivery
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I acknowledge my parliamentary colleague and local member Julie Owens.
It is a pleasure to be here today to launch the Parramatta Tourism Development Strategy - a first step in realising the enormous potential of a thriving tourism industry in and around Parramatta.
That's what the Strategy is about: boosting your tourism industry by building on your appeal as an historic and multicultural precinct.
It was just over 12 months ago, in the 2008 Budget, that I announced $500,000 in Australian Government funding to develop the Strategy.
The Australian Government contribution will fund:
- Market research
- Development of a prospectus to encourage enterprises to set-up in Parramatta
- Design and implementation of themed trails
- Development of branding and marketing plans, and
- Delivery of a digital media product.
Today, the work really begins - to share Parramatta with the world.
This is not going to be an easy task.
In tourism, the competition for people's time is unbelievable, so if Parramatta is going to compete you'll have to be smart because you won't just be competing with other regions in Sydney, you will be competing with the world.
It's lucky, therefore, that Parramatta have so much to offer:
- A rich Indigenous and colonial history.
- World-class sporting facilities.
- A thriving arts community.
- One of the largest shopping districts in Sydney.
- World-class university facilities through the University of Western Sydney's Parramatta Campus.
And I noticed that in November 2008 the University of Western Sydney's Parramatta Campus announced it would use part of the $15.85 million grant awarded under the Better Universities Renewal Fund for capital and infrastructure upgrades.
This funding will enable the Parramatta Campus to develop a much-needed student precinct.
This type of investment has tourism benefits as the refurbishment will allow students to access services and amenities under the one roof in the heart of what is the university's major growth campus.
If you can keep students in the region economic benefits will follow - it's exactly the same as utilising your capacity as a gateway to western NSW.
But to succeed with tourists, as Parramatta will discover with students, you need a plan to make Parramatta a stopping point on their journey and not a bypass.
The fact is, as we well know, you have the attractions to be an attractive destination for tourists … and now you will have the strategy to move ahead.
The good news is that you aren't starting from scratch - for a start, you know how appealing Parramatta is.
You know that because you have chosen to live here, as have more than 150,000 other people covered by Parramatta City Council.
Companies know it, too, which is why more and more are choosing to relocate to Parramatta every year.
In fact, Parramatta City Council anticipates that the City Centre will accommodate an extra 30,000 workers and 20,000 residents by 2031 and the Department of Planning calculates that Parramatta's job market will balloon by 50 per cent.
Tourism is a great way to provide diverse and satisfying careers to your new and current residents.
The challenge for now is to bring people to the region and help them discover what you already know.
With the Parramatta Tourism Development Strategy you will have the tools you need to grow tourism in the region and create jobs for the long term by appealing to visitors and businesses.
I congratulate Parramatta City Council on their commitment to this project - and the people of Parramatta for getting behind the Strategy.