Ballarat's new tourism partnership is one step closer to full operations, with a new leader at the helm with a bit of Commonwealth Games experience.
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John Pandazopoulos, a former state government minister, will chair the board for Tourism Midwest Victoria.
The new visitor economy partnership is the first in Victoria, as the state re-organises tourism bodies to create a streamlined and efficient approach to encouraging more tourists to visit the regions.
Mr Pandazopoulos held a number of portfolios while in office, including major projects, employment and gaming.
![Tourism Midwest Victoria chair John Pandazopoulos. Picture supplied. Tourism Midwest Victoria chair John Pandazopoulos. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/173106531/49eb6928-2c11-45f5-9e4e-e23e2717aa7b.jpeg/r0_69_640_429_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He was tourism and major events minister during the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006.
Mr Pandazopoulos said in a statement regional tourism is "the essence of what Victoria is".
"I see the region as a core part of Australia's story," he said.
"These lands have been nurtured and cared for by many First Nations communities and we continue to learn from their resilience and creativity."
READ MORE: Why are we getting a new tourism body?
Mr Pandazopoulos resigned before the 2014 election and a year later became the director of the William Angliss Institute, a Melbourne based TAFE for hospitality, tourism and culinary arts.
He is also the local government engagement manager for Moray & Agnew a law firm in Melbourne and the board of directors chair for Parks Victoria.
Other TMV board members are yet to be announced, but will include the chief executives or representatives from the five member councils and five industry partner directors who will represent different skills and backgrounds.
A state government representative will observe the board's work.
The board will begin working on a Destination Management Plan, which will outline the direction of tourism in the region for the next seven years.
Mr Pandazopoulos said this new partnership will be an opportunity to "give visitors a new reason to visit and stay longer".
TMV will be resources by the City of Ballarat's visitor economy unit and the council's visitor economy executive manager Sarah Pilgrim will oversee operations.
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Work will be funded by state government funding, local government budgeted contributions and industry partner contributions.
Ms Pilgrim said she looked forward to joining forces to put TMV on the map.
The five mayors from the councils involved welcomed the announcement.
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