That is the message from an Echuca Moama Tourism forum held at the Moama Bowling Club last week, according to EMT chief executive Kathryn Mackenzie.
“The forum went really well,” Ms Mackenzie said.
“We had about 34 operators as well as organizers attend, which is fantastic on short notice in a very busy industry.”
Ms Mackenzie said the view within the room was that operators would need to work together in order to lead the recovery.
“The feeling was business needed to drive this,” she said.
“It's going to need like-minded operators working together, while the regulations will be what sets our capacity and what we can and can't do.
“There was also discussion about how the surrounding towns - the Tongalas and Kyabrams - had a role to play too in increasing the capacity in the community.”
While businesses across the valley were going to be essential, there was also a view that council had a role to play in getting things moving.
“And the message was clear - always make sure you are doing the right thing, talking to your insurers to make sure it is possible, make sure you have the permits and regulations in place,” Ms Mackenzie said.
And there was also an understanding that there wasn't any time to wait.
“The key message was Christmas is just around the corner,” Ms Mackenzie said.
“We hope this is going to be an incredibly busy time for all of us, so we need to start now.
“We need to make sure as people start to come in for this period that we are completely ready to go, that we have as many things in place as we can to service as many people as possible.
“The work for all our operators is going to start now.”
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