Port Macquarie-Hastings' $469 million tourism industry to help lead NSW revival

There are just 213 days left in the year to get away and the Port Macquarie-Hastings region's natural attractions from koalas to camel rides and up close encounters at Billabong Zoo are being sold far and wide in the now highly competitive domestic tourism market.

"The end of travel restrictions in NSW signals the start of an important new chapter for us to get out there and love NSW once again, to visit as many of the incredible towns, sights and experiences that the state offers," Steve Cox, chief executive officer for Destination NSW said.

"Now's the time to get out there and make up for lost time - jump online and find the NSW adventures that are right for you, book them in and reboot your 2020."

Read more: Paradise will wait - Port Macquarie-Hastings region's big domestic tourism push begins

More than 102 NSW destinations, 131 operators, 37 hotels and other accommodations, 28 national parks and 19 animal encounters feature as part of the stellar line-up of the 213 Ways to Reboot NSW in 2020 campaign.

The statewide campaign aligns with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council's adoption of its Destination Management Plan (DMP) for 2020-2024.

The development of a new DMP was a priority in council's Economic Development Strategy and has been informed by considerable research including a Visitor Profile and Satisfaction Survey (2018), the Greater Port Macquarie Destination Product Audit and Analysis (2019) and Greater Port Macquarie Tourism Monitor 2019.

It aims to sustainably grow tourism over the next five years and will be particularly important coming out of bushfires, drought, floods and a health crisis that have crippled tourism across the country.

Council's DMP maintains a focus on all industry and business sectors and not just tourism, in planning for the future while establishing a point of difference for Port Macquarie-Hastings by celebrating and protecting our natural and cultural assets.

The plan looks at seven keys areas including nature-based experiences; arts, heritage and Aboriginal tourism; food and local produce; health, wellbeing and active lifestyle; caravan and camping; tourism and business events.

Cr Lee Dixon said the new DMP will provide an opportunity to establish the region as a unique place to visit.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing how council approach this in the destination branding. It's a really great opportunity to position in a really competitive market space," Cr Dixon said.

"My personal view is that we have a local, national and international drawcard, or hero, with our koalas and I just love the concept of 'koala capital'. Let's just shoot big and stand out here."

Cr Rob Turner said the plan will have far-reaching benefits for the community.

"A lot of community members have had a lot of input into this plan and it's really been well-received right across the community," Cr Turner said.

"It's a really good roadmap to creating a fantastic destination not just for visitors but for locals as well."

Read more: Koala Sculpture Park project taken out of bushfire recovery funding mix

Tourism contributes an estimated $469 million to the Port Macquarie-Hastings region's economy and is the sixth largest economic generator in the region. For locals, the area is known to residents as 'a good place to live'.

In the 2018-19 financial year, 1.66 million people visited Port Macquarie-Hastings, which is an increase of two per cent on the previous year. Of this total visitation there were 808,000 domestic overnight visitors who stayed 3.2 million nights, 81,000 international visitors who stayed 261,000 nights and 771,000 domestic day trip visitors.

In 2018-19, 47 per cent of visitors to the region were on holiday, 34 per cent were visiting friends or relatives, 3 per cent in transit; and 2 per cent for other reasons such as education and medical visits. The increase in business visitors last year was stable at 14 per cent.

International visitor numbers represent 8.1 per cent of the overnight market, but have increased by 16 per cent. The main generating countries in 2018-19 were the UK (17%) and Germany (15%).

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