2021-12-13 GC Agenda - Item 9 - Attachment 1 - Draft Economic Development Strategy 2021-2030

5. Economic Development Strategy
5.1.     Value Proposition – People and Place
People visit and fall in love with Noosa’s pristine beaches, national parks, lack of city symbols,
open spaces, low scale development and the connection between the built and natural
environment, UNESCO Biosphere status, the high level of services offered by local businesses
and the lifestyle that these elements enable.

Noosa has overtime attracted an agglomeration of skilled and talented people - entrepreneurs,
remote workers, investors and a myriad of leading edge experts forging development in their field
of technical expertise. COVID-19 has accelerated this. The result is a spike in inward migration
from capital cities (particularly Melbourne and Sydney), to safe lifestyle orientated regional areas
such as Noosa.

The combination of skilled and talented people enjoying the lifestyle afforded by our commitment
for sustainability and the natural environment enables and exemplifies Noosa’s key differentiator,
becoming a Smart biosphere.

In the absence of population driven economic growth and a commitment to thoughtful management
of our destination for visitors, Noosa is focused on developing the means to generate increased
economic activity that supports higher export of goods and services and/or the replacement of
imports.

Previous Economic Development Strategies have pursued economic diversification to build a more
resilient economy that looks beyond tourism and population driven economic growth. This
approach continues to resonate with the community and this Strategy builds on these concepts
from the previous Local Economic Plan.

Council is committed to pursuing a robust, sustainable and resilient local economy that recognises
the importance of skilled and talented people; has the necessary infrastructure to accelerate
employment growth; supports the sustainability of businesses, industries and technologies; and
creates a business environment that provides a range of diverse employment opportunities.

Our new economic vision seeks to transition to “a Smart biosphere”.




               The best way to predict the future is to create it.
                     Peter Drucker - Management Consultant, Educator and Author




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