Ten tourism businesses in Batemans Bay and Narooma have partnered with council, who will represent them at the five-day Visit Canberra Singapore Malaysia Sales Mission in Singapore next week.

The businesses will also be invited to meet with potential overseas trade partners in November on a hosted tour of Eurobodalla.

Council’s executive manager communication and tourism Cath Reilly said this was the third time Eurobodalla had been part of a Visit Canberra sales mission since the announcement that Singapore Airlines would start a Singapore-Canberra-Wellington route through Canberra Airport. 

“The sales missions allow us to meet with hundreds of international travel agents who are looking for accommodation, tours and experiences to package up for their retail and wholesale customers,” she said.

“This group of 10 local businesses have been working towards being export-ready with support from Council and through our partnerships with Destination NSW, Visit Canberra and Sydney Melbourne Touring Inc.

“With flights now coming in to Canberra four times a week, the next six months is a critical time for us to build relationships with trade partners and show that Eurobodalla is genuinely ready to welcome international visitors.”

Corrigans Cove Resort in Batemans Bay is one of the 10 businesses partnering with council and resort manager Andrew Johns is a member of council’s tourism advisory committee.

“Working together to grow international tourism is important for all businesses in Eurobodalla,” Mr Johns said. “While international visitors only represent a small percentage of people coming to Eurobodalla, they often travel outside of our peak summer times and mid-week, so it helps to keep money coming into our economy all year round.

“We see definite potential to grow this niche market and it’s absolutely worth the investment,” he said. “We’re very pleased to be working collaboratively with council and other pro-active tourism businesses to make this happen.”

The 10 businesses partnering with Council to be represented on the international sales mission are: Corrigans Cove Resort, Edgewater Gardens and Batemans Bay Manor, Oaks Ranch in Mossy Point, The Bower at Broulee, The Bryn at Tilba, as well as RegionX Kayaking, South Coast Sea Planes, VIP Private Tours, and Island Charters Tours Narooma.

“These 10 businesses are professional, positive and committed to developing their markets and we are delighted to be working with them to grow Eurobodalla’s visitor economy,” Ms Reilly said.