A PUSH is on to showcase the culture of the bush, in a bid to lure more tourism dollars to regional towns across the state.
Nationals Leader and Arts Minister Troy Grant launched the Cultural Tourism Toolkit at the Artlands festival in Dubbo this week – which is an annual meeting of the regional arts community and a public festival.
The toolkit aims to boost local economies in the bush, by helping towns capitalise on the cultural capital of their communities: Activities that start with a local focus can blossom into cultural tourist attractions, the toolkit says.
The most common question that regional communities ask is what can we do to encourage more dispersal of visitors, particularly international visitors, outside of Australia’s big cities?
- Margy Osmond
The Tourism and Transport Forum said it was “fantastic to see” the government pursue the cultural tourism initiative.
“The most common question that regional communities ask is what can we do to encourage more dispersal of visitors, particularly international visitors, outside of Australia’s big cities?” the Fourm’s chief executive, Margy Osmond said.
Holbrook yarn-bomb
A successful cultural attraction cited is Holbrook’s ‘yarn-bomb’ project, which covered the local museum’s HMAS Otway submarine with knitware to build community resilience when the Hume Highway bypassed the town, and is now a beacon for tourists.
Albury sculpture walk
A series of 11 sculptures by Aboriginal local artists are set along the permanent five kilometre Yindyamarra sculpture walk on the banks of the Murray River, to showcase local arts and culture.
North Coast fishing heritage
Seven local museums banded together to develop a online showcase of the region’s rich fishing heritage – ur Rivers – Our History (www.oroh.com.au), showcasing objects and the region’s historical narrative.
Bermagui Festival
Started by a small group of deicated locals in 1991, the Four Winds festival is now a raging success. It’s self funded a new 2000-seat amphitheatre and the event is a major boon to the local economy, attracting more than 4000 visitors this year.
Tourists who visit cultural and heritage attractions stay longer and spend more than the average. International visitors stay 24 per cent longer and spend 24pc more, and domestic visitors stay 37pc longer and spend 56pc cent more, Ms Osmond said.
Visit www.arts.nsw.gov.au for more information
