Tourism North East has appointed the organisations which will scope the business cases for development of two new High Country experiences,  Ned Kelly Alive and the Hume Aboriginal Cultural Trail.

The first phase of work on two new tourism initiatives for the High Country is underway with the appointment of leading organisations to research and scope the business case for development of the Ned Kelly Alive and Hume Aboriginal Cultural Trail projects.

These State Government-funded projects are aimed at driving positive outcomes to the local visitor economy and will be delivered across 2017 via the following consultants:

• A multidisciplinary team comprising leading tourism consulting firm, Earthcheck, interpretive and experiential design specialists, Thylacine, in tandem with Lucid Economics, which will explore and assess the High Country’s current Ned Kelly tourism experience and develop recommendations and concepts to revitalise and reimagine new products and experiences across the region.

• Hirst Projects, specialists in developing and managing high quality visitor experiences, new business models for public place management and integrating commercial operations into community developments. For TNE, Hirst Projects will research and scope the viability of developing a connected network of significant Aboriginal cultural tourism products and experiences under the banner of a Hume Aboriginal Cultural Trail.

Tourism North East announced it had secured the  Regional Tourism Infrastructure funding late last year. Ned Kelly Alive is receiving a $130,000 grant toward a $150,000 project, while the Hume Aboriginal Cultural Trail project has attracted a grant of $150,000 of a $185,000 project.