Region’s brand not so Great: Premier

The Great Southern brand should become obsolete, Premier Colin Barnett said when visiting Albany this week.

Mr Barnett, who visited local industry members and tourism sites such as Busy Blue Bus and the Gap on Tuesday and Wednesday, said the regional tourism brand needed to change.

To sell Albany and it’s surrounds as a destination, Mr Barnett said the region should market itself as the South Coast.

“To me I don’t think the Great Southern means anything to anyone,” he said.

“What is the Great Southern?

“What is that? To me the South Coast is an image.

“Something like the Great Southern is meaningless and mixing in too many bits and pieces.”

Mr Barnett, who came under fire for Brand Perth, which focuses tourism on the State capital rather than the regions, said Albany needed to find its niche.

“I think towns, areas need to be known for something and the mistake that is so often made in tourism is to ignore the destination where you go and then to try and be all things to all people,” he said.

“I just think Albany has a unique opportunity to become a destination for walks ... you’ve got the coast walks, you’ve got the karri forest.

“Fitzgerald River National Park is one of the world’s unique areas of biodiversity.

“And then you’ve got the Porongurup and the Stirling ranges all close by, and I can’t think of anywhere in the world that has that variety.”