And then there was water, the impact of freshwater on tourism in a rural community.La Vergne LehmannSchool of Business, University of Ballarat,Victoria

On Sunday, 27th September 2009, a sight wasseen in the Wimmera town of Dimboola thathad not been seen in almost five years.Significant rain across the Wimmera regionin early spring was now resulting in emptyriver channels beginning to fill again. Asdemonstrated in photos in Figure 1, theHeritage Wimmera River, as listed by theVictorian Government’s Heritage Rivers Act1992, near Dimboola, started to fill andmove down the empty channel that had oncebeen the pride of the town. By Mondaymorning the river was full down to the weirpool, the town was buzzing, the phones wereringing, national media was interested andthe rowing club was planning a Novemberregatta, which had not been held since2004. Was tourism in Dimboola to bereborn?

Figure 1: Before and after – refilling the Wimmera River atDimboola

(photo: La Vergne Lehmann)

This chapter focuses on a case study inthe town of Dimboola in Wimmera Grampiansregion, a dryland region in westernVictoria, where endeavours to develop atourism sector to broaden the localeconomic base has been stifled over thelast decade as the supply of fresh waterhas gradually disappeared as the impact oflong term drought conditions took hold. Canthe spontaneous re-appearance of theWimmera River in Dimboola in Septemberreignite the flame of tourism endeavour inthe town after years of drought? A contentanalysis of community and businessdevelopment and planning activities inDimboola since Victorian local governmentamalgamations in 1995 combined with acontent analysis of local and regionalmedia coverage in The Dimboola Banner and TheWimmera Mail Times aims to develop a pictureof how changing water regimes have impacted

on the ability of a town, and the region,to undertake tourism development andpromotion.

The relationship between tourism and freshwaterIt has been recognised for quite a whilethat fresh water is one of the mostcritical and scarce natural resources forthe tourism industry (UNWTO, 2003). In2009, The Jackson Report, informing thenational long-term tourism strategy forAustralia, highlighted water securityproblems in southern and eastern Australiaas one of the major impacts of climatechange by 2030. In contrast, Hadwen et al.(2006) highlight that water features in alandscape play a significant role in thedecision by visitors to come to particulardestinations. Further, water quality,accessibility and clarity have an impact onthe activities and experiences of manyvisitors to freshwater environments (Hadwenet al., 2006). It is also well documentedthat many destinations and attractions relyon a consistent supply of freshwater inorder to maintain a viable tourism sector(Anderson, 2002; Cooper, 2006; Touhino,2006; Goossen, 2006; Prideaux et al., 2009;Efurt-Cooper, 2009). In Australia, many inland tourism regions

are located around significant natural

fresh water features such as water falls,lakes and rivers. This is the case even insemi-arid or dryland landscapes where wateris not abundant and sometimes ephemeral(Hadwen et al., 2006). Too little or toomuch water can have a dramatic impact on adestination’s ability to provide aconsistent and safe tourism product.Changes in water availability can also havea dramatic impact on the ability of adestination to attract visitors,particularly those that focus on water-based tourism attractions. As aconsequence, confidence in developing atourism sector in regional communities isalso likely to be problematic asbusinesses, attractions and events struggleto survive in such conditions.In regional Victoria, water has

significant recreational attributes fortourism activities such as boating, fishingand hunting. In recent years TourismVictoria has also started to recognise thevalue of promoting and marketing tourismproducts relating to golf, health andwellbeing and food and wine tourism(Tourism Victoria, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008).All of these products rely on a consistentsupply and quality of water for ongoingsuccess. All forms of tourism accommodationand hospitality, from camping grounds

through to five star resorts, rely on aconsistent supply of potable fresh waterfor visitors. Water is also a criticalrequirement for features, such as pools andspas, and in the gardens that surround thevenue. As a result the tourismaccommodation sector can be a conspicuousconsumer of water. It is becoming apparent that increasingly

constrained water regimes in drylandtourism destinations have the ability toput some strain on the water resourcesavailable for tourism enterprises(Gössling, 2006). A juxtaposed situation isevident: if less water is available andlocal water restrictions impact on waterusage, the tourism sector too must managewater use more carefully. While theircustomers, tourism consumers who wish toenjoy their holiday destination, do notnecessarily see that water restrictionsapply to them or indeed that waterresources may be depleted because of theiractivities. The issues outlined aboveinvolve the supply and demand of water fortourism and emphasise the symbiotic natureof the relationship between water andtourism, especially in dryland regions. With many inland regions in Australia

experiencing long-term drought conditionsin recent years (BOM, 2009), dealing with

water scarcity has become an increasingfocus for tourism managers, localgovernment and operators. The WimmeraGrampians region has endured long termdrought conditions since 1996 and has notexceeded long-term average rainfall overthat period until 2009 (Allender, 2009).Long term drought conditions finally forcedthe Victorian and Federal Governments andGrampians Wimmera Mallee Water (GWM Water)to construct the critical major waterinfrastructure project for the region, theWimmera Mallee Pipeline, in 2006 andcompleted in early 2010 (for moreinformation see Mala-Jetmarova in thisbook). This water saving project involvedthe replacement of 18,000-kilometres ofinefficient earthen channels with 8,800-kilometres of pressurised pipeline and isexpected to ensure that significant watersavings will be available for theenvironment and other regional developmentopportunities (GWM Water, 2010).MethodThis research has been framed around twodistinctive sources of data: planningdocuments and reports from community andbusiness development initiatives, whichinvolve an element of tourism, undertakenin the town of Dimboola since 1995; andlocal and regional newspaper coverage of

tourism oriented stories over a similarperiod. These are the main sources ofdocumentary narrative for the period andrecord things as they were seen at the timethey were written. While these will notand should not be the only source ofinformation for an overall study of theimpact of changing fresh water regimes onthe tourism sector in a regional inlandlocation, they have the advantage of notbeing tainted by nostalgia that may beappear in present day interviews. Content analysis in tourism research has

often been used to analyse the messages inbrochures and other promotional materials(Edelheim, 2007; Jenkins, 2003). Contentanalysis has also been undertaken in atourism context on a variety of mediaranging from newspapers, magazines andwebsites through to films and television(Crouch et al., 2005). The content analysisundertaken in this study of the word-baseddata in this instance is looking for veryspecific references in relation to tourismand water. Each reference has been recordedand coded for analysis. Reports and planning documents were

obtained from the Hindmarsh Shire Council,community members involved the activitiesand the websites of those organisations whoprepared the reports. All of these reports

were identified from media reports of theactivities in The Dimboola Banner andreferences in subsequent reports. Thecontent analysis for each informationsource involved identifying any tourismrelated issues from the identified reportsand planning documents. Once all thetourism issues were identified then contextfor each was recorded. All connectionsbetween tourism and water related issueswere specifically highlighted. Quantitativedata on the number of tourism and water-related issues were collected. The overalltone and outlook was collected asqualitative data. Media analysis of the two main newspapers

covering the local Dimboola area and theGrampians Wimmera region, The Dimboola Bannerand The Wimmera Mail Times, was undertakenprimarily for the period from 2000 to 2009.Some subsequent analysis of the earlierperiod of 1995 to 2000 was undertaken forThe Dimboola Banner. The content analysis foreach newspaper involved identifying anytourism related articles on Dimboola andthe Wimmera Grampians region. Once all thetourism articles were identified thencontext and identification of water issuesfor each was recorded. All connectionsbetween tourism and water related issueswere specifically highlighted. Particular

attention was paid to articles on water-related events and activities in theregion. Quantitative data on the number oftourism and water-related issues werecollected. The overall tone and outlook ofeach article was collected as qualitativedata. Case Study - Water and Tourism in the Wimmera Grampians - DimboolaThe September 30 2009 headline in TheDimboola Banner screamed, ‘Wimmera River flows onand on’. This was no ordinary headlinebecause for more than ten years the WimmeraRiver had not flowed in Dimboola at all andthe river had been empty for the last fouryears. All this changed as on Sunday, 27th

September 2009, the Heritage Wimmera Riverstarted to fill and move down the emptychannel. The town of Dimboola, originally known as

Nine Creeks, was established on the banksof the Wimmera River in 1859. The verypresence of the river has always beenconsidered to be a quintessential part ofthe township’s identity. Even as early as1903 the local council was prepared totrade off the natural water flow down theriver by agreeing to the diversion of waterfurther upstream at Lake Lonsdale forstorage, in order to maintain the riverlevel at Dimboola with the construction of

a weir. This is indicative of theimportance that the fifteen kilometrestretch of river has for the town (Kemfert,1996). This was followed, in 1992, by theDimboola section of the river beingdeclared a Heritage River by the VictorianGovernment because of the significantenvironmental values associated with thatsection of the river (Lennie et al., 1999). In 1968, the other major visitor

attraction in the area was established inthe form of the Little Desert NationalPark, running in a long finger to the SouthAustralian border (Robin, 1998). TheWimmera River also travels through theeastern section of the park near Dimboola.One of the early great environmental battlegrounds in the late 1960s, the LittleDesert combines some unique dryland floraand fauna features with the river in theeastern block near Dimboola (Robin, 1998).The river has also played a significant

role in local indigenous culture, both as atrade route over thousands of years and aspart of the dreaming. Heritage sites alongthe river include scar trees and freshwater mussel middens demonstrating some ofthe ways that the presence of the rivergoverned the lives of the Wotjabaluk people(Robin, 1998).

The return of water to the Wimmera Riverin the town of Dimboola was a big event.For more than a decade the town hadstruggled through ongoing droughtconditions, exacerbated by the loss ofwater in the river in 2006. The loss of theriver had spelt the end for the town’smajor sporting event, the Dimboola Regatta,due to be held for the 122nd time in 2006(Lawson, 2006). Tourists had also stoppedcoming for the water skiing with theVictorian Barefoot Waterski Club cancellingevents on the river from 2003 (Eliot, 2009;Shand, 2003). Fishing events had also beencancelled. In short, tourism development inthe town had stalled. Riparian zone aesthetics were also

severely impacted by the loss of water inthe river. The presence of the river meansthat much of the local vegetation in theriparian zone is made of river red gums,many that are hundreds of years old andrely on the river water for life. The lossof the water has meant that a number ofthese trees have died in recent years(Westbury et al., 2007; WCMA, 2006). In the town itself, stage four water

restrictions imposed by GWMWater in 2003,meant that local parks and gardens alsosuffered. In 2007, the local council, theHindmarsh Shire Council, attempted to

establish a bore water resource for use onrecreation reserves and park areas(Hindmarsh Shire Council, 2007). However, asecond bore had to be established in 2008after the salinity levels in the water fromthe first bore were too high for use. Tourism development in Dimboola – 1995 to 2009.Like many small towns the activities ofDimboola have been well documented inplanning documents and through the localnewspaper, The Dimboola Banner and the regionalnewspaper, The Wimmera Mail Times. The followingnarrative of tourism development inDimboola has been drawn from a variety ofplans and reports along with articlespublished in The Dimboola Banner andsupplemented by comments from key playersin the development of tourism in Dimboola,as well as public records and meetingminutes, held by the Hindmarsh ShireCouncil.By the early 1990s, like many other small

towns, Dimboola was encouraged to considertourism as the best opportunity for futuredevelopment. Until that time, Dimboola waslike many other Wimmera towns, essentiallya service hub for the broad-acreagricultural community of the WimmeraPlains. Tourism was perceived as providinganother potential source of incomegeneration for the town, as well as

potential employment opportunities foryoung people in the town (Hindmarsh ShireCouncil, 1996, 1997, 1998a, 1999a, 2000,2001, 2002). Prior to the 1995 council amalgamations

in Victoria, the Develop Dimboola committeewas the first incarnation of the townshipcommittee for Dimboola. A committee made upof community and business people,independent of council, the DevelopDimboola committee put together a number oftourism related plans and ideas includingplans for ‘the Big Ear of Wheat’, a touristattraction proposal for a giant ear ofwheat similar to Queensland’s Big Banana orBig Pineapple, and the establishment of atrain park for visitor stopovers (TheDimboola Banner, 1996).In 1996, the newly formed Hindmarsh Shire

Council, an amalgamation of the previousDimboola and Lowan Shire Councils, replacedthe Develop Dimboola committee with thesecond incarnation of township committee,Vision Dimboola. Vision Dimboola was formedafter a series of ‘vision’ meetings inDimboola involving around 30 community andbusiness members (Hindmarsh Shire Council,1996, 1997). The new Vision Dimboola alsosaw tourism as a major opportunity in forthe town to grow (The Dimboola Banner, 1996).

A 1998 Urban Development and MarketingPlan, commissioned by the Vision Dimboolagroup highlighted the potential appeal ofthe town as a tourism destination. Thefinal report concluded, after communityconsultation, that the marketing plan wouldlead to:

An increase in community pride in thetown; its natural attractions and surrounds;

An increase in tourism generated by the Marketing plan, thereby creating economic benefits in the long term for the community;

Through the increase in tourism, employment opportunities to service this new demand;

Potential expansion of goods and services offered in the town to caterfor the increase in demand; and

A change in community attitude – fromone that allows change to control thecommunity to one that is proactive and seeks to control its own destiny (Strategic Enterprise Development, 1998).

Even before the 1998 StrategicEnterprise Development Plan, new tourismenterprises had started to spring up aroundDimboola. New accommodation enterprisesincluding self-contained cabin

accommodation, a host farm and bed andbreakfast were all developed. Otherattractions such as an eco-tour operator, arejuvenated olive oil plantation, majornative plant nursery, emu farm, gift andantique shops and a small winery operationhad all added to the tourism mix. Newevents including a German Fest to celebratethe German Lutheran pioneer heritage of thetown and regular showings of the famousJack Hibberd play, Dimboola, were included inthe town calendar (personal communication,C. McClure, 2008). Tourism development in Dimboola followed

the establishment of a local tourism group,the Little Desert Horseshoe Bend Tourism Group in1996 (The Dimboola Banner, 1996). Prior tothe formation of the tourism group, earlytourism operators had already developed theHeritage River Country promotional brand for thearea complete with signage to coincide withthe declaration of a section of the WimmeraRiver near Dimboola as a Heritage River bythe Victorian Government. The signage stillexists today, although supportingcollateral, such as a brochure, is nolonger around. The tourism group alsoattracted the attention of AustralianGeographic, which produced a comprehensivearticle on the area for an edition in 1998.

Dimboola tourism operators and businesspeople were given a further boost with thepreparation of the Hindmarsh Shire EconomicAudit and Economic Development Strategy,first started in 1998 and reviewed in 1999(Hindmarsh Shire Council, 1998b, 1999b).This strategy identified tourism as anopportunity for the whole shire andproceeded to develop a tourism plan andemploy a full-time tourism officer in June1999. The period from 2000 until 2003 saw

tourism firmly planted as a key economicdevelopment feature of Dimboola and thelocal Hindmarsh Shire Council. The keyfeatures for promotion were the WimmeraRiver and the Little Desert National Parkalong with the pioneering heritage of theregion and ‘village’ lifestyle. The tourismfocus of the Hindmarsh Shire Councilresulted in:

A presence at travel shows and caravan and camping shows in Melbourne and Adelaide, including participation by operators;

A greater presence in Tourism Victoria’s Jigsaw campaign flagship for the Grampians region;

Development of township brochures; Development of a local visitor guide;

Attraction of a new operator to the caravan parks in Dimboola and Nhill;

Professional photography for promotional purposes; and

Establishment and training of volunteers for the visitor information centre (Hindmarsh Shire Council, 2003).

In 2000, the Hindmarsh Shire Councilalso decided that the township committeesystem in place at the time was notinclusive enough and consequently developedthe third incarnation of the towncommittee. This time the Dimboola TownCommittee became a Section 86 committee ofcouncil, which is essentially a sub-committee of council, reporting directly toand responsible to council. All members areappointed by council (Hindmarsh ShireCouncil, 2000, 2001) The Dimboola Town Committee continues to

the current time, and while there has beensome input into tourism activity in thetown, the focus has been on more townbeautification and community activityrather than economic and tourismdevelopment. It would also appear that thechanges in the roles of each of the threeincarnations of the Dimboola townshipcommittee have largely been aligned withthe growing impact of drought conditions

and lower water availability for recreationand tourism activities in the town. The Hindmarsh Shire also had a change of

direction with its involvement in tourismin 2003 (Hindmarsh Shire Council, 2003,2004). Since this time there has been noemployee responsible for tourism promotionor development. The last tourismpromotional activity was a visitor guideproduced in 2004 with funding from TourismVictoria (Hindmarsh Shire Council, 2004). A number of community consultation

activities have taken place since 2003. In2005, an urban design framework plan wasdeveloped by La Trobe University studentsand staff, which included tourism projectssuch as a high rise viewing platform acrossthe Wimmera plains (Hindmarsh ShireCouncil, 2005). In 2006, - a survey ofHindmarsh Shire Council residents on theexpected benefits of the Wimmera MalleePipeline indicated that increased tourismactivities were one of the anticipatedoutcomes of the water savings generatedfrom the project (CRIC & WIDCORP, 2006). InNovember 2006, funding was provided to runa Community Opportunity Workshop toidentify opportunities for the town. Areport from the workshop indicated thatwhile the community saw tourism as anopportunity, the lack of water was seen as

a significant deterrent to any furtherdevelopment. These comments were backed upby a follow up workshop in February 2009(Hindmarsh Shire Council, 2009). Further, a Business Vitality Initiative

program funded by Regional DevelopmentVictoria in May 2008 identified water asthe critical issue for Dimboola and themajor factor holding back the town fromfurther development (Hindmarsh ShireCouncil, 2008). Despite marketing andtourism being a key focus for businessdevelopment in the town, the marketinggroup specifically identified theirtimeframe for developing new marketingprograms to promote the town as ‘when itrains...’ (CIEL, 2008a, 2008b)Despite the various planning activities

and workshops that have taken place inrecent years, the most critical indicatorfor tourism in Dimboola has been the dropin the number of tourism businesses andactivity since 2003. Two accommodationenterprises have closed, the olive oilplantation is rarely open to the public,the winery has now closed to the public,the gift and antique shops have closed, theemu farm is closed. The larger of the twohotels in the town, the Dimboola Hotel,burnt down in October 2003 and remains acharred ruin on the main street, waiting

for the current owner to make good onproposed plans. Other cafes and take-awayenterprises have also come and gone overthe same period. Local events have also been hard hit in

recent times. The Dimboola Regatta, afeature on the Victorian rowing calendarfor 122 years was unable to run between2006 and 2009 because of the lack of waterin the river. The German Fest, held for theprevious 13 years on the last weekend inApril, was also cancelled in 2008 due to aclash with Anzac Day. At this stage thereare no plans to resurrect the event (TheDimboola Banner, 2009). With no official visitor information

centre in the town, it has not beenpossible to measure the changes in visitornumbers over the last ten years. However,the rise and decline of tourism orientatedenterprises, including accommodation,hospitality and ancillary businesses isindicative of a cycle that mirrors thechanges in water availability forrecreational and tourism activities. Thosechanges could also represent the changes inconfidence among the business communitywith those businesses closing either unableto sell the business, because of on-goingconcern, or losing interest in tourism aspart of their business mix.

The story of a decline in tourism inDimboola is also reflected across theregion as evidenced by the regional tourismvisitation statistics. Table 1 and Figure 2show growth in tourist numbers to theGrampians region, which includes theWimmera, over the last decade has beenlimited (Tourism Victoria, 2012). While theregion has certainly been affected bybushfires, it is likely that the ongoingdrought conditions have had a greaterimpact on the management of the region, aswell as tourism product and businessdevelopment. Table 1: Visitor numbers (in thousands) to the Grampians 2000

– 2011 with percent change (%) from 2000Visitor Origin

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

%

Day trip

1447

995

938

1053

784

678

748

791

604

646

827

682

-53

Intra-state

641

562

533

605

568

487

565

471

449

505

349

526

-18

Inter-state

195

146

157

222

156

189

182

157

148

157

144

134

-31

Inter-national

46 54 48 55 60 55 32 33 44 35 32 32 -30

Source: Tourism Victoria, 2011Note: year ending September

Figure 2: Visitors to the Grampians, 2000-2011. Source: Tourism Victoria, 2011Note: year ending September

Most notable is the 53 percent decreasein day tripper visitations. Many of thesevisitors, who would be travelling fromplaces less than two hours drive from theregion, may well be those most likely toparticipate in water-based activities suchas fishing, canoeing, skiing and boating. Representations in the MediaIt is well accepted that most touristconsumers will obtain their generalimpressions of a region from what they seeand hear across a range of organic or non-tourist media sources (Gunn, 1972; Gartner,1993) including newspapers, television,radio and the internet. The perception thatthe Grampians and Wimmera both continue tobe drought affected, as depicted bynumerous media sources, may have

contributed to the difficulty in improvingvisitor numbers. This perspective isreinforced by an episode of the ABC’s MediaWatch in 30 April 2007 when they highlightedthe front pages of the Herald Sun and TheAdelaide Advertiser featuring a dry Edward Riverat Deniliquin in New South Wales. Theconsequences of the story were immediatefor Deniliquin tourism operators withvisitors cancelling bookings because of thelack of water (ABC, 2007). In fact, thestory in both papers seriouslymisrepresented the real situation as therewas water in the river but the damage rortby the media coverage was done. However, this paper is focussed on the

impact that local media has on localbusiness and community confidence indeveloping and promoting tourism in theirarea. Given that the main consumers oflocal media such as The Dimboola Banner and TheWimmera Mail Times are mainly localcommunities, stories about tourism are morelikely to impact on confidence levels inpromoting and developing the sector ratherthan having a direct impact on visitornumbers to the area.Analysis of local media coverage over the

last decade has provided a clear indicationof the impact that the lack of water hashad on tourism across the region. Of the 32

newspaper articles relating to tourismdevelopment in the Wimmera over the lastdecade, more than 60 percent specificallyhighlighted the lack of water as a majorbarrier to tourism development. Table 2presents some of the major tourism relatednewspaper headlines and stories thatfocussed on water related issues during thedrought period. A content analysis of all tourism related

stories indicates that tourism stories arelargely written as positive storiesrelating to improved visitor numbers, newdevelopments and the success of events.This is largely the case in regional mediabecause the story is written directly fromthe media releases sent out by local andstate governments. Negative stories tend tobe related to the impact of naturaldisasters such as bushfire, accidents anddrought related issues.

Table 2: Tourism and water related media articles from theWimmera Mail Times(WMT) and Stawell Times (ST) from 2000 to

2009Headline Date Story focus Fight to maintain recreational lakes

15 November 2000(WMT)

Impact of drought conditions onthe ability to maintain recreational lakes for tourism in the region

Forum eyes water needs

31 October 2002 (WMT)

Outlining the need to develop water infrastructure in the Wimmera to assist with regionaldevelopment including tourism

Drought dries up region’s

07 February 2003(WMT)

Highlighting the impact that the loss of water has had on the tourism sector in the

tourism WimmeraTourism support for Grampians

28 November 2003(WMT)

Victorian Government drought assistance for tourism sector announced

Fyans water level impactson tourism

25 October 2005 (ST)

Low water levels impacting on tourism visitor numbers

Pomonal tourism receives a boost

21September 2007(ST)

Federal Government funding granted to develop the region’sfirst spa and wellbeing tourismoperation despite ongoing drought conditions

Fyans ebbing 22 September 2005 WMT)

Discussing the impact that the loss of water in Lake Fyans is having on tourism businesses inthe area

Netting new tourist dollars

10 March 2009 (WMT)

Highlighting the ongoing absence of the Horsham Fishing Competition since 2006 and the need to look for different attractions that are not water-based to bring in new visitors

Tourism fall proves costlyfor Wimmera

15 June 2009 (WMT)

Outlining the fall in tourism activity and the impact of the loss of water in the Wimmera River

At the local level, the only tourismrelated features run by The Dimboola Bannersince 2000 have been media releases fromthe Hindmarsh Shire Council tourism managerreporting on tourism promotion anddevelopment, ‘Letters to the Editor’debating the need to develop tourism inDimboola. There was also the occasionalarticle about the development of a newbusiness, sometimes followed by an articlediscussing its subsequent demise at a laterstage. The only other tourism related

articles were about the cancellation of theDimboola Rowing Regatta from 2006 to 2008,the ongoing cancellation of the German Festin 2009 after the initial cancellation in2008 and the continuing saga of the burntout shell of the Dimboola Hotel that beganin October 2003. The content analysis of the The Dimboola

Banner from 2000 to 2003, showed that in thefirst three years 90 percent of tourismrelated articles were positive. In theperiod from late 2003 through untilSeptember 2009, 75 percent of all tourismrelated articles were negative. This is incontrast with the period between 1996 and2000 when the proportion of positivearticles relating to tourism activity inthe town was 85%. These periods all largelycorrelate to distinct periods of wateravailability. That is, 1995 to 2000 whenthere was plenty of water in the WimmeraRiver; 2000 to 2003 when water was still inthe river but the drought was starting toimpact on the town; and, late 2003 toSeptember 2009 when water was rapidlyreceding in the river and finallydisappeared. The media coverage that has occurred

since the return of water to the WimmeraRiver in Dimboola in late September 2009has largely been positive. In fact, more

than 20 newspaper articles and radiointerviews all highlighted the boom fortourism as a result of the river flow. OnWednesday, 23 September 2009, as ongoingrain continued throughout the region, TheAge (Ker, Page 4) published the followingarticle:

Rain raises Dimboola's hopes for a regattaLike a serpent waking from slumber, the WimmeraRiver is slowly winding north once more.As solid rains sweep Victoria this week, one ofthe state's sickest and driest rivers is pushinginto parts not reached for years.Rain in the region and strategically releasedenvironmental flows are pushing the front of theWimmera River towards Dimboola.The town's rowing club has been inactive foryears, but vice-president John Nichols said therewas hope the traditional November regatta couldreturn for the first time since 2005.''The next couple of weeks is crucial to how farthat flow will get. As of today, Rowing Victoriaisn't expecting us to be holding a regatta … butthe current rain may change things,'' he said.''It would be a fantastic boost for the town.''

This was just the first of many itemspublished in regional, state, national andeven international media. ABC local radio aired the following

comments from local tourism operator, DenisElliott on 29 September 2009 (ABC, 2009):

River through Dimboola flows at lastRain and environmental water flows are relievingthe ailing Wimmera River in Victoria's west.Water is flowing through the Wimmera River atDimboola for the first time in five years.Riverside Host Farm owner Denis Elliott says hisbusiness halved while the river was dry."You can't believe what you're seeing really.You're used to seeing it dry for so long," hesays."You look out now and you think is this anotherworld I'm in at the moment, or what's happened?"

Anecdotal evidence from other localoperators has also indicated that the lossof water in the river over the last fiveyears has halved their occupancy rates andbusiness takings. For example, the DimboolaRiverside Caravan Park has indicated thatthe loss of the Dimboola Rowing Regatta,has been the equivalent to the loss of onemonth’s income for the business per annum. In December 2009, The Wimmera Mail Times

prepared a special three- part insert intoits regular newspaper in the lead up toChristmas to celebrate the return of waterto the Wimmera River and other localwaterways. The twelve pages of articles andphotos depicted the many positive outcomesthat the flows down the river brought to anumber of small Wimmera towns likeDimboola. Visitor information centres and

tourism accommodation venues are nowreporting increased enquiries frompotential visitors about water activitiessuch as water skiing and fishing. Somehotels are already reporting increasedpatronage from visitors travelling throughtowns that had previously seen few visitorsin recent years. The entire series ofarticles not only reflects theoverwhelmingly positive nature of thereturn of water to the Wimmera River systemas perceived by local and regional media,but also records the level of interest inthe event beyond the region at a state, andeven a national level. Conclusion While there is no question that fresh wateris a critical factor in the success of atourism sector, understanding the nature ofthe relationship between the presence ofwater, the ability of a community andbusinesses to develop and promote their owntourism sector and the role that local andregional media plays in providing theconfidence boost for communities andbusiness is not well researched. There hasbeen little analysis on how much tourism isimpacted by an increasingly waterconstrained environment. The example of thetown of Dimboola, where water was lost fora period of several years, and more

recently returned, is an indication thatwater plays a much more significant role inthe confidence of a community to developand promote tourism in many inland regionaltowns. Water plays a critical role in the

development and ongoing nature of regionalevents, both sporting and cultural, theconfidence of communities to plan for thefuture and development and expansion oftourism related businesses. With water onlyrecently returning to the Wimmera River inthe town of Dimboola, it is not yetpossible to determine if there will be anongoing resurgence of tourism relatedactivity. While initial media analysiswould suggest that the return of water is amajor boost to confidence for both thecommunity and business in the town, it isnot yet possible to determine if it willhave an ongoing positive effect. The focusof future research will be on looking atthe longer effects of the return of waterto Dimboola and to test whether theapplication of the Dimboola case study canbe applied across other towns in theGrampians and Wimmera region and into otherdryland regions.

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Dimboola flows at last. URL:www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/200909/s2699345.htm Accessed 10 October 2009.

Allender, B. (2009).Longerenong rainfallstatistics. The WimmeraMail Times. 4 December

Anderson, S. (2002). The Pleasure of Taking the Waters. In S. Anderson and B. Tabb (Eds.). Water, Leisure & Culture (pp.1-6). Oxford, Berg.

Anon. (1996a). Potential Hope from Public Meeting. The Dimboola Banner. 21 February.

Anon. (1996b). Fresh Approach for Dimboola Survival. The Dimboola Banner. 7 August.

Anon. (1996c). Local Tourist Group Formed. The Dimboola Banner. 25 October.

Anon. (2000). Fight to maintain recreational lakes.

The Wimmera Mail Times. 21 November.

Anon. (2003). Tourism support for Grampians. The Wimmera Mail Times. 23 December.

Anon. (2005). Fyans water level impacts on tourism The Wimmera Mail Times. 25 October.

Anon. (2007). Pomonal Tourism receives a boost. The Wimmera MailTimes. 21 September.

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