The council is calling for expressions of interest from people who want to help shape the city’s visitor strategy.
The board is expected to be made up of tourism stakeholders and community and business representatives.
A council spokeswoman said the board would start operating “in coming months”.
The council has recently appointed a tourism development co-ordinator who faces the big job of overseeing the development of the visitor strategy that will promote Parramatta as a leisure destination.
This will include promoting Parramatta’s heritage assets as well as CBD shopping, Eat Street, hotels, river activities, cultural facilities such as the Riverside Theatre and sporting facilities such as Pirtek Stadium and Rosehill Racecourse.
The tourism strategy is being partly funded by a federal grant handed out last year.
While Parramatta Council holds successful events such as Parramasala, Chinese New Year, New Year’s Eve - which attracts more than 50,000 - , Winterlight and Loy Karathong Thai Water Festival, it has drawn criticism for not bringing in more tourists who want to stay overnight to explore the city’s attractions.
Critics feel the council should better promote the city’s history as the cradle city of the nation with some of Australia’s oldest examples of colonial heritage.
Lord Mayor Scott Lloyd told WSBA that the problem of promoting the colonial heritage sites such as Old Government House, Elizabeth Farm and Hambledon Cottage was because the houses often were not open at the same time.
“This has been the problem for ages, having the old homes open at the same time. But they don’t have enough volunteers, or sometimes they may be closed to the general public because a school group is taking over,” Clr Lloyd said.
“I urge retired people, especially if they come from an education or marketing background, to consider being a volunteer for these attractions so tour operators can have them on their list of places to visit.”
Clr Lloyd said he hoped the new visitor strategy would drive more people to stay in Parramatta for more than one day and not bypass Parramatta when visiting Sydney and the Blue Mountains.
The council has produced a booklet on Parramatta attractions that has been placed in city hotels.
“Parramatta spends about $27 million a year on events, which draw large crowds and we are trying to tell people to make a weekend of it in Parramatta, with theatre, dining and sport to keep them here,” Clr Lloyd said.
Recently, Parramatta Chamber of Commerce criticised the council’s lethargy in bringing people from outside the area to the city.
“Council’s events are great family events, such as New Year’s Eve on the river but these events attract mostly locals and we need to send the message out to people outside the area,” Chamber of Commerce executive member Roger Byrne said.
Following Mr Byrne’s comments, made when he was Chamber president, he has been invited to sit down with council and discuss his ideas.
Clr Lloyd said it was important that the council works with the business community, general community and tourist operators to come up with a viable tourism strategy.
