Tourism students' plan to revive village

Last year, students from the UTS School of Business found themselves immersed in the region of Menindee Lakes, NSW, working on a real-world strategic tourism plan in partnership with UTS Shopfront for their final year Tourism Management subject.

Sunset Strip Village is located on Menindee Lakes in NSW. It has experienced severe drought cycles for the past seven years. Without a water supply for the Community Centre Precinct lawns, Landcare Nursery and land restoration sites, the areas turned brown; a desolate and depressing landscape.

Psychological and economic impacts of the long-lasting drought have led to painful shortfalls for the community. At least 28 families in the agricultural industry have abandoned the area, with weekend residents quick to follow suit. The result was a drying and demoralised Sunset Strip, with a third of its houses up for sale.

The Sunset Strip Progress Association Inc. (SSPAI) is a locally run, not-for-profit group of volunteers who have tackled drought-related challenges in the community since 2012.

The association secretary, Barry Fowler, is a retired social worker and has been involved with the village for 28 years. He says:

‘The students got us to think about things in a different way. There was a lot of new technology that the students introduced to us to change our thinking.

‘They got us connected with influencers and other media contacts which we would have never thought of. Really, the students gave us a different perspective of how to attract people to the community and lift the residents’ spirits.’

Worked with SSPAI, the tourism management students researched the area and developed recommendations for strategic tourism.

The SSPAI hope that their work with the UTS students will have ongoing positive effects for the area. They are hoping to increase and activate their population, develop infrastructure, increase volunteers, and offer the local population more entertainment options.

While tourism management students developed these strategies, final year students from the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building helped develop design materials to also improve tourism in the area. UTS Shopfront led a partnership between final-year students in the coursework subject Socially Responsive design, and SSPAI to design steel cut out signs and posters to attract visitors to the village, which are now currently in use. Their design for a welcome to village sign has been submitted to the local council for approval. One student designed a village information booklet.

SSAI are hoping to implement some or all of the strategic tourism plan at some stage with potential funding from Destination NSW.

‘This is such a large impact – the students don't realise how much they've helped our community for years to come,’ says Barry.

‘I believe this program has been very uplifting. It lifted our spirits to see that UTS and the students cared about us, and we really enjoyed sharing our experience, stories, and history with them.’

‘We all crowded around the computer and talked to the students, and we were instantly positive about this community. People have started seeing it in another light. The fact that someone was interested in us was a major bonus, and the prestige of UTS was important to the locals.’

‘The real key is the prestige of UTS and how they were interested in a small village – that has really stayed with us. For someone to be interested in us and help us, I think that is really significant to our community and lifted everyone's spirits.’

Shopfront links the community sector to university expertise through pro bono projects completed by students as part of their studies, supervised by academic experts in their field. We aim to create mutual value, supporting community organisations while engaging students in important social justice issues. Find out more.

Tourism Major - Bachelor of Management 

Tourism is offered as a major with the UTS Business School Bachelor of Management degree. Tourism is one of the world's largest and diverse industries that crosses over many different business areas. By studying the Tourism major prospective students will be able to make strategic decisions that drive tourism at a local, national and global level. They will gain a better understanding of all the interrelated components of the industry and be able to think critically about the future of tourism industry and its different forms.