JINDABYNE Chamber of Commerce president, Olivier Kapetanakos, is calling on the incoming Snowy Monaro Regional Council to re-prioritise its focus to growing the region’s economy and increasing its tourism support.

Following Council’s adopted 2024/25 budget, which saw its economic development team disbanded, Mr Kapetanakos said a renewed approach is needed to boost the Snowy Mountains economy.

"The new operational plan left us astonished, especially the dismantling of the business development team. It’s evident that the Council suffers from a revenue shortfall, and it shouldn’t require an MBA to see that simply increasing rates won’t solve the problem," he said.

“What’s needed is bold thinking and a strategic focus, a process that could have been fostered by collaboration between the Chambers of Commerce and the economic development team.

“Tourism remains the largest contributor to the Gross Regional Product, generating approximately $590 million in this local government area.

"Yet, the councillors seem to lack an understanding of its value and have minimised their plans to capitalise on it.”

Mr Kapetanakos said the Jindabyne Chamber of Commerce is hopeful the new Council will better recognise the contribution of local businesses.

"We hope incoming councilors will better grasp that the prosperity of local businesses directly impacts the community's prosperity," he said.

"The Chamber would like to see concrete evidence that the council understands the needs of Jindabyne's businesses and residents."

Mr Kapetanakos said a focus of the new Council must be addressing Jindabyne's public access network and amenities.

"As a premier destination, our town's mobility access is poor, with zero investment in footpaths," he said.

"Our public toilet facilities date back to the 1960s. Moreover, we urge the council to prioritise car parking. The current limited public and subpar off-street parking offer untapped opportunities for improvement."