A former MIA resident says introducing gondola rides and boat trips along supply canals could help to attract more tourists to the region

For one former MIA resident, taking advantage of the region's numerous waterways could solve its tourism woes.

Retired journalist and former Leeton resident Michael Ross said the MIA continued to rely on food and wine to attract tourists, while its canals remained weed-infested and underutilised.

He said more needed to be done to draw tourists inland.

"If I drive from Sydney to the Barossa Valley, I branch off at Narrandera, I don't go to Griffith or Leeton," Mr Ross said.

"While they've increased tremendously in quality, the MIA wineries are not well known so people don't go there."

The idea came to Mr Ross after watching the Great Canal Journeys series, which showed canals being used for tourism purposes in the UK.

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He said the MIA currently boasted 5000 kilometres of supply and drainage channels, which was much larger than the 3.8 kilometre Grand Canal and 175 tributaries of Venice, Italy.

"You need a gimmick and you need something to attract people," he said.

Mr Ross, who previously worked as a journalist at The Area News in the mid-1970s, said using supply canals between wineries for kayaking, canoeing or even Venice-style gondola rides could help expand the region's business opportunities.

He also said it would provide an incentive for local government to undertake regular maintenance on the waterways.

"There would be increased tourism and increased vigilance to keep supply channels desilted and weed-free," Mr Ross argued, citing weed control as a major issue for farmers.

According to Mr Ross, bridges could be raised and locks could be built for the weirs to make the feeder canals more suitable for boat rides.

Mr Ross also suggested the Murrumbidgee River could be used for similar purposes, including paddle steamer boat trips, which were previously used in the early 20^th century to transport goods to the cities.

"I think the number of visitors to the MIA has decreased dramatically with COVID," he said. "You need reasons to attract people to a region other than a winery."

While the Leeton-turned-Sydney resident acknowledged it would need to be a private enterprise operation, he also said local and state government could provide support to keep the feeder channels desilted and weed-free.

He said farmers would ultimately benefit from the widespread weed removal, as well as the NSW Aboriginal Land Councils who could use it to establish a new business enterprise.

Murrumbidgee Irrigation were unable to comment on the matter.

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