The campaign’s GoFundMe page has gone live at and video clips from high-profile expats and the golf day celebrities have hit social media to promote it.gofund.me/6553bcd8
They can be accessed at andyoutube.com/watch?v=uFKIbMlJLV4 youtube.com/watch?v=csfNIk3iFew
Tourism in the twin towns was devastated by border closures and lockdowns — with losses in the millions of dollars.
The Victorian Government’s snap five-day lockdown on the Valentine’s Day weekend was another unexpected and bitter blow to regional economies.
The committee behind the Turn The Bubble Green project has used the momentum of that success to launch its Murray River renaissance campaign ‘Let’s Revive Echuca-Moama’.
It started with the golfing fundraiser, which was organised by Paul Lavars at RRGC and Committee for Echuca Moama chief executive Deanne Armstrong, with the Riverine Herald and EdgeFM providing the publicity and promotion.
EMT chief executive Kathryn Mackenzie said her organisation had dramatically increased its spend across targeted domestic markets to “send the very clear message the twin towns are open for business”.
Ms Mackenzie said with almost a year of ongoing border closures, restrictions and lockdowns, the tourism industry had been devastated more than almost any other business sector.
She said first NSW and then Victoria blocked the borders; and between that and travel limits going both ways — followed by the most recent Victorian lockdown — visitors grew increasingly confused about where and when they could access Echuca-Moama.
“This is one of the most established holiday destinations in northern Victoria, especially for Melbourne people, and to see the accommodation and hospitality industries both sides of the river sitting empty for week after week has been heartbreaking,” Ms Mackenzie said.
“We have simply got to re-educate our domestic visitors that everything we have is open and good to go — and with our COVID numbers so low, visitors can have confidence in booking holidays, conferences, weddings and parties; they can come for family holidays and they can do all the things they have come to know and love about our region.
“The work the committee is doing, first helping get the NSW half of the bubble a green rating so we could operate as the one community again, and now raising this money to boost our marketing budget, has been a fantastic contribution — and effort.”
With representatives from Moama Bowling Club, Moama RSL Club, RRGC, C4EM, the office of Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh, McPherson Media Group and ACE Radio, the committee has been kept on its toes trying to keep a step ahead of the rapidly changing conditions.
The committee said what had been achieved to date, and how successfully the latest campaign was going, was a credit to the whole community. It added that the way everyone approached for help had been only too happy to pitch in was what life in regional Victoria and NSW was all about.
“This is a community challenge and the whole community is getting behind the work being done,” the committee said.
“There was a fantastic turnout to the golf day, the dinner was an incredibly entertaining evening and to have all those celebrities give their time for free showed how far and wide support for Echuca-Moama has spread.
“Now we are hoping we will be able to spread its pulling power a bit further to raise this money so EMT can keep plugging the Echuca-Moama message, and we are asking everyone who can to spread the details on their social media.”
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