Athlone on the Shannon is looking for a new "brand name" to give a fresh image of the Co Westmeath town with its watery hinterland, Lough Ree, which is now recognised as the area's greatest asset.
The creation of a brand name is just one of the recommendations in a detailed report drawn up for Athlone Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The plan, a contribution to Athlone Millennium Development, was drawn up after consultations with a wide range of local and regional groups.
Ms Siobhan Bigley, of the Athlone chamber, said the aim of the organisation was to make Athlone and the surrounding area the most progressive economic hub in the midlands and the most attractive place to do business, visit and live in.
She said that many people outside the region were unaware of the growth in population of Athlone and its environs, which currently stands at 23,547, based on a five-mile radius using the 1996 census figure.
She said the census figure does not reflect the enormous development over the past two years, and it is expected the population will be in the order of 31,035 by 2006.
And if the projected figure for the 2006 population were to be extended to a 10-mile radius, the figure would be 45,500, she added.
Ms Bigley said the character of the town has been radically altered by the opening of the bypass in 1991, which was the catalyst for more than £60 million in commercial and residential investments. Further works requiring an additional £50 million investment are in progress.
"The immense recreational and tourist potential of the Shannon and Lough Ree have yet to be realised, and the importance and practical implications of conserving their environmental and scenic qualities need to be better understood," she said.
"In recent times there have been major improvements to the recreational and entertainment amenities of the town and these add to the attraction of Athlone as a place to live.
"The further development of these will mean that Athlone will rival centres such as Galway as a location of leisure activity."
But how to come up with a brand name to sell all the good things the town and its environs can offer is the question facing the community.
"The feeling is that we should find a name which will reflect what we have to offer and we are currently working on that with a number of interested bodies," she said.
Dealing with the main recommendations of the report, Ms Bigley said the revitalisation of the town centre, east and west of the river, was the main concern of the groups which contributed to the report.
They also wanted renewed effort to renovate and maintain the fabric of Athlone and its street furniture and to improve the approaches to the town.
There was also, she said, a demand that the town boundary be extended and that Athlone achieve borough status as quickly as possible.
High on the list as well, she said, was that the water quality and conservation measures for Lough Ree be improved.
She said that the chamber would be arranging a millennium conference, "Athlone in 2010: Capital of the Midlands" which it hoped would provide an ideal forum for reviewing progress and setting the strategy for future development.