The Bowral Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc is committed to cultivating a thriving commercial environment, at the heart of which is Bowral’s famous boutique shopping and café experience.
The Chamber’s role includes promoting the town’s unique range of shops and services and ensuring that those businesses are always conveniently accessible to their customers, clients and visitors.
The Chamber will continue to work with Council , SHBC and other stakeholders to develop and maintain the Bowral CBD as the Southern Highlands’ sub-regional hub.
Bowral is rich in rural tradition and famous for its unique boutique shopping experience. As the Sub-Regional Centre of the Southern Highlands, Bowral is also the commercial heart of the region, with a wide range of businesses, professions and nation-wide institutions represented.
The Bowral Chamber aims to ensure that this unique commercial profile is maintained and strengthened. To achieve this, the Chamber has embarked upon a number of initiatives including:
-
full cooperation with Tourism Southern Highlands to ensure that Bowral remains the Premier destination in the itinerary of every Southern Highlands visitor.
-
ensuring that the production of Bowral’s town brochure is of a high standard,
-
consistent with the unique characteristics of the town and its immediate environs.
-
sponsorship of the local community radio station (FM 107.1) to inform the community of the Chambers activities.
-
vigorous lobbying of the Wingecarribee Shire Council to upgrade the town’s infrastructure, particularly the provision of more parking and landscaping within the CBD.
-
the establishment of a Café owners’ forum to ensure that the town and its cafes and restaurants provide a consistently high quality product and service, seven days per week.
-
the establishment of a retailers’ forum to ensure that retailers provide consistently high quality goods and services at competitive prices.
-
the lobbying of landlords to ensure they charge commercially justifiable rents while simultaneously presenting their premises in the best possible way.
-
the development of a visitors’ information bureau in Bong Bong Street, in the heart of Bowral.
Community support
The Bowral Chamber of Commerce and Industry maintains a high profile in the general community through the various activities it undertakes and supports during the year. For example:
Tulip Time Parade – The 2007 street parade was an enormous success and plans are underway for the 2008 event.
Southern Highlands Business Awards for Excellence – The Bowral Chamber was a proud sponsor of the 2007 Business Awards Excellence and is delighted to see several of our members receive Awards
Carols by Candlelight – a Bowral Chamber of Commerce initiative with The Salvation Army and Bowral’s combined Christian Churches. Corbett Gardens fills with community carols singing and thanksgiving, shared in a wonderful candle-lit spirit.
Jobs Expo 2008 (record exhibitors: 41 and record attendances: over 700). A fine example of the Bowral Chamber working with the Southern Highlands Manufacturing Cluster. A great benefit to business in the region Covered on local and WIN news
The Bowral Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc offers its members an opportunity of networking with like-minded Bowral business operators. Business owners who understand that building relationships with other business owners, sharing in the knowledge of the wider group and benefiting from the resources of the wider group, are all vital if their own business is to flourish.
Furthermore the membership of SHBC andaffiliation to IBC is an added dimension for its members to develop and even wider network.
James Becke
President