The Tamworth Town Hall was a hive of discussion last night at Tamworth Regional Council’s first Toyota Country Music Festival, Tamworth Business Update event, co-hosted with the Tamworth Business Chamber.
Nearly 70 members of the Tamworth region’s Business Community attended the panel-style event, representing the local media, tourism and hospitality and retail sectors, amongst others.
Speakers included Stephanie Cameron (Tamworth Business Chamber), Barry Harley (Toyota Country Music Festival, Tamworth), Peter Ross (Entertainment Venues), Rod Laing (Wests Entertainment Group), Craig Power (The Pub Group), Prue Simson (Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre), Daine Cooper (Powerhouse Hotel Group), Kate Baker (Tamworth Regional Council) and MC Jacqueline O’Neill (Tamworth Regional Council).
“Each year in the lead up to the Festival, Council liaises with key stakeholders to deliver the event,” said Jacqueline O’Neill, Director of Growth & Prosperity at Tamworth Regional Council.
“This year, we wanted to extend that business community engagement further; to continue the conversation with many, and to start the conversation with some. We want to ensure that businesses are informed and ready for a prosperous January.”
The event allowed members of the business community to hear from some key stakeholders about their plans for the 50th festival, and provided attendees with the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback.
“What was clear last night was that we have a resilient and agile business community, who are excited about the opportunities that the festival brings to the region,” said Ms. O’Neill.
“Attendees left with the knowledge that we are 100% ready for a festival that is 100% on, and the 50th festival is going to be the best yet!”
Key points of discussion included:
·
Accommodation
providers are reporting strong bookings.
·
Entertainment
Venues is seeing ticket sales up over 20% on sales at the same time in 2020,
with a large portion of ticket sales across venues in general are from a NSW
audience.
·
The Tamworth
region has seen increased visitation, in particular from metropolitan Sydney,
outside of locked-down periods.
·
Business across
the broader Tamworth region should be prepared to welcome more visitors as they
explore further afield than they have previously.
·
Festival and
event organisers will have a clearer idea of what restrictions will be in place
under the Public Health Order when NSW opens up further from 15 December, 2021.
This morning, Tamworth Regional
Council and Tamworth Business Chamber have also announced that the Festival
Friendly Program will be launching next Monday, 15 November in partnership with
2TM.
The promotion aims to promote an
enthusiastic and festival friendly atmosphere, encouraging visitors to shop
locally by offering great deals through the festival period.
Participating businesses will be
provided with promotional materials, and will go into the draw for their chance
to win a $1,000 media package with 2TM. Businesses are encouraged to sign up to
be part of the program from Monday on the Tamworth Regional Council website
