The Port Douglas Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Port Douglas Daintree (TPDD) met on Tuesday to discuss and identify steps that both organisations could begin to implement in response to the recent Melbourne Business School (MBS) report. 

Identified as organisations required to take a leadership role in shaping the town's future, both parties have expressed their commitment to the task and will commence initiatives towards the galvanisation of the business sector in Port Douglas. 

"A starting point in response to the MBS report is the recognition that there is a deficiency in economic development in Port Douglas and the greater Douglas region," the organisations said in a statement.   

"There is a need to improve interconnectivity of businesses from different sectors, including the retail, service and other industry and trade groups and to facilitate promotion and marketing platforms between those groups which actually translate into revenue for those businesses."

The two organisations announced the formation of a new group to focus on economic development.

"The participation by as many Port Douglas and greater Douglas region businesses in an economic development group is a vital step in bolstering the business health of the region, maximising co-operation and flow of ideas and support for future economic initiatives," the statement read.

The new group will attempt to access government revenue streams and promote the interaction of businesses and marketing strategies "without duplication of resources."

It is thought that TPDD will encompass the Economic Development role.

"There was consensus between TPDD and the Chamber that it is a fundamental precondition to the new group’s creation that there be no depletion to marketing funds spent on destination marketing. 

"Both groups expressed commitment to addressing strategies to increase not decrease monies spent on marketing the region."  

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Division 10 Councillor Julia Leu who chaired the meeting said, “We are at a critical point in the economic future of Port Douglas and this region. We need to have a different approach and cannot continue to do the ‘same old’, as we did in boom times.

"We should embrace the proposed economic development structure as it allows the community to better connect with the two organisations.” 

President of the Port Douglas Chamber of Commerce, Ken Dobbs, said that focusing on economic development is the key to addressing most issues raised in the MBS report. 

“It is also essential not to take away from the current marketing activities and funding of TPDD. The initiative is to enhance what is currently being undertaken.”

TPDD Chairman Gordon Wellham concluded, “This initiative driven by the MBS report is an exciting step forward for the region, and it is a major first step in achieving the one vision, one voice that the MBS Report so heavily emphasised.”

Both groups stress that this is the opportunity for those businesses that are committed to the longevity of the Douglas region to step up and to participate. 

They said there must be "constructive participation not destructive division or the apathy of the past."