The move, announced by council on Wednesday afternoon, means that Ms O'Brien will relinquish her role within BRT for a six-month role with the City of Ballarat as Head of Tourism and Strategy.

Ms O'Brien said she is excited to work with the council team to help the region recover from the devastating hit to tourism caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I'm looking forward to working with the team and bring industry along to really be prepared to come out firing when the state opens up for visitors again," she said.

"I guess BRT represents the industry, so this is a really great opportunity to work closely with the city to deliver the recovery strategy."

Her first aim within the new role will be to bring families and friends back to the region.

"I think the first audience that we'll be working really hard to bring back will be the visiting friends and relatives," she continued.

"Ballarat has a huge reliance on this market, so we'll be looking to help reconnect the community locally and hope they reach out to their families with weddings, parties and anything. It's a great opportunity to draw people back to the local community."

Despite leaving her position within BRT, Ms O'Brien said she will continue working closely with the organisation to help produce the best result for Ballarat's tourism industry.

"I'll be having regular interfaces with the BRT team and board members."

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