The Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association has initiated a process to review and evolve the region's destination brand.
MRBTA joint chief executive officer Steve Harrison said consultation had started with key stakeholder groups including the City of Busselton, Shire of Augusta-Margaret River and the region's Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Mr Harrison said while the Margaret River region name would continue to be important as an overarching brand for marketing to international and interstate visitors, they felt the timing was right to create a brand platform that allowed city and town localities to feel proud about what makes them special and what they have to offer.
"Since the launch of the unified regional brand in 2015 the Margaret River region name has gained traction in international and interstate markets and collectively the region has seen some incredible achievements, including the City of Busselton's success in attracting Jetstar flights, and the recent Lonely Planet accolade," he said.
The MRBTA will engage a brand agency to work through a process to ensure the result is appealing and helpful for visitors.
One of the biggest risks posed by using sub-brand identities, Mr Harrison said, was creating confusion for visitors, who may not realise how compact the region is and how easy it is to navigate from town to town.
"The other risk is dilution of the overall identity of the region within our target markets and for this reason, the Margaret River name will continue to be used in international and interstate marketing," he said.
"A sub-regional branding approach could be extremely useful for visitors on a practical level as they explore the region.
"Not only could it show how the region fits together in a more visible way, but helping visitors to identify the unique characteristics and experiences offered by the region's different localities would enable them to plan holiday itineraries which are highly tailored to their personal interests."
At last week's council meeting, a motion was pulled by City of Busselton mayor Grant Henley in response to another motion raised at the general electors meeting to reestablish a Busselton Tourist Bureau.
Instead, Mr Henley suggested the city continue discussions with the MRBTA about the region's branding strategy and support to use location based sub-brand localities, which was fully supported by councillors.
Mr Henley said council believed the reestablishment of a Busselton Tourist Bureau would be counterproductive.
"It would result in unnecessary and expensive duplication of tourism servicing and marketing," he said.
"It would also undo many years of good work undertaken to raise the profile of the district under the internationally recognised Margaret River brand.
"This is not to say, however, that Council doesn't support the active promotion of individual localities including Busselton, Dunsborough and Yallingup.
"Notwithstanding the benefit of the regional brand, particularly in light of the increasing importance of flight destination marketing, promoting our locations and associated locational brands remains council's top priority."
