A canoe trail, a wilderness retreat, and a distillery are just some of the tourism ideas in the Towong Council's latest plan to double visitation to the region by 2025. 

The Towong Shire Council's draft Destination Management Plan aims to grow daytrip yield by 47 per cent and overnight yield by 30 per cent as it looks to capitalise on its natural north-east Victorian assets and attract visitors to stay for longer.

The region is still recovering from the devastating 2019-2020 bushfires and the pandemic.

Towong Mayor Andrew Whitehead said it was an ambitious goal to double tourism in just three years, but it needed to be done.

"It's a big goal, but it's about increasing the number of visitors to the shire and also extending their length of stay and increasing the visitor spend," he said.

The Towong Shire's visitor economy attracts 195,000 visitors annually who spend $23.9 million.

This accounts for 6 per cent of High Country visitation and 4 per cent of visitor spending.

Big project ideas

The draft plan identifies six investment projects as short-term priorities to develop the shire's visitor economy.

This includes the $3 million Bellbridge Boathouse to attract waterfront commercial food premises to the Lake Hume foreshore, a $400,000 activation plan for Mitta Mitta to tap into its mountain bike potential, and a $4 million Gravity and Adventure Park at Mount Elliot, near Corryong.

The priority projects also include a $7 million Cudgewa Valley Wilderness Retreat to improve accommodation options, $5 million to upgrade Tallangatta's foreshore with a cafe, playground, and trails and $400,000 for a feasibility study into an Upper Murray Canoe Trail.

Other ideas not on the priority list include a distillery at Corryong, revitalising Tallangatta's Butter Factory, upgrading Corryong's golf course, creating a Man from Snowy River Australian Music Festival, and putting more mobile food vans into Bethanga and Mitta Mitta where infrastructure hampers commercial development.

"We've got all the natural offerings up here but things haven't been developed, so that's where we are trying to get some of these projects up and running," Mr Whitehead said.

"So when people do come, there's plenty for them to do.

"It's also for the whole family."

The council will look to private investment and seek government funding to support the delivery of the projects.

"We are really after any feedback from the community," the Mayor said.

"Have a look and make sure you give your feedback so we can take that to a council meeting hopefully in February."

Submissions close at 5pm on December 31, 2021.