Melbourne Caravan, Camping and Touring Super Show

What a great response we had to our Riverina Regional Tourism stand at the Melbourne Caravan, Camping and Touring Supershow in Melbourne from 8 to 14 March!

This year, NSW was represented by a record number of 22 exhibitors. Riverina Regional Tourism shared an exhibitor stand with The Long Paddock, which worked really well and allowed for some great cross-promotional opportunities.

Executive Officer of Riverina Regional Tourism, Tina Jones, said she was really pleased to see so many people visiting the stand over the six days.

“We only needed 35 genuine enquiries to get a return on our investment in the show and we had many more than that. The timing of the show was great, given the recent flood activity in the region. It was the perfect opportunity to educate consumers and encourage them to come to visit us.”

Thank you to the many visitors who stopped at the stand – we look forward to seeing you in the Riverina very soon! A big thank you must also go to all the wonderful volunteers who helped out at the stand and assisted with set up and pack up.

We are now looking forward to the Sydney show which will be held in April, followed by the Canberra show in October.

See you all there!

BOGGY CREEK SHOWS FUNDING TO BOOST TOURISM

Boggy Creek Shows – Fast Facts!

Boggy Creek Shows, located in Tumbarumba, was successful in gaining Stream Two funding from Destination NSW’ Regional Tourism Product Development Funding program.

Stream Two funding was awarded to applicants from the tourism industry for large scale projects that will significantly benefit a region.

The funding will be used to further improve the complex and create a more comfortable environment for patrons.

“The show attracts a large number of bus and coach tour groups of retired travellers so the enhancements will be targeted towards their needs and comfort. Lighting and audio improvements will help seniors who are hearing or vision impaired and make their visit more enjoyable. A new amenities block will also be constructed to cater for our increasing visitor numbers,” said co-owner, Petrina Walker.

“We are extremely thankful to Destination NSW for making the funding available, which will help us complete our 10 year master plan for the venue. I invite everyone to come and check out one of our shows and experience the new improvements in person,” she said.

For more information on Boggy Creek Shows, visit www.boggycreekshows.com.au or contact Petrina on 02 6948 8273.

• Visitor numberss to Boggy Creek Shows have increased by nearly 10 per cent every year since operation commenced.
• Over 3,000 people view a Boggy Creek Show each year.
• Owners, Tim and Petrina, are generational Snowy Mountain cattlemen and commenced the business after experiencing hard times during the drought.

Congratulations NSW Regional Tourism Operators!

It was wonderful to see so many regional NSW tourism operators represented among the finalists and winners at the 2011 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, held in Cairns on Friday 2 March.

Of the 27 awards presented on the night, 11 were awarded to operators in NSW. While there were no winners from the Riverina, regional areas of NSW were well represented among the finalists, with some taking out the top prize in their categories.

Some of the regional NSW winners of the 2011 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards were:

· The Magic of Jenolan, Blue Mountains (Tourist Attraction)

· Jenolan Caves – Written in Stone, Blue Mountains (Heritage and Cultural Tourism)

· Coffs Coast Aboriginal Discovery, North Coast (Indigenous Tourism)

· Tri State Safaris, Outback NSW (Tour and/or Transport Operators)

· BIG4 North Star Holiday Resort & Caravan Park, North Coast (Tourist and Caravan Parks)

· Newcastle Airport, Hunter (Specialised Tourism Services)

A bit closer to home, Boggy Creek Shows, which is located in Tumbarumba, was a finalist in the Heritage and Culture category. Well done to Tim, Petrina and everyone at Boggy Creek Shows on this great achievement.

Riverina operators are encouraged to participate in their local awards program in 2012. The 2012 Inland Tourism Awards will be held in Mudgee, NSW on 28 July and will soon be open for nominations.

Griffith Marine & Caravans BIDGEE CLASSIC FISHING COMPETITION; Postponed!

The organizing committee of the 2012 Griffith Marine & Caravans BIDGEE CLASSIC FISHING COMPETITION regret to advise that the event scheduled for the 9th, 10th & 11th March has been postponed.

The new dates for this event are the 4th, 5th & 6th MAY 2012.

The committee have been working closely with State Water, the Gogeldrie Weir Caretakers and the relevant Roads and Maritime Services bodies following the recent rain across NSW and VIC over the last week.

Based on the expert advice provided by these groups, the Murrumbidgee River has been deemed too unsafe for the competition to proceed as planned with the excess flood waters expected to reach Gogeldrie Weir by Thursday.

Committee President Mr Adam Ryan said 'Although we can deal with a little water under foot, the current conditions on the water and the fact that the Gogeldrie Weir gates will be fully opened in order to cope with the deluge, means that there is now a significant safety concern for anglers and spectators if the event was to proceed. As much as we hate to postpone the event, the safety of our participants continues to be our number one priority'.

The committee would like to advise that the new dates for the 2012 event will be the 4th, 5th & 6th May 2012.

The drawing of the major raffle will also be postponed until competition presentations on Sunday 6 May.

'Over the next week the committee will be contacting our sponsors and the 170+ anglers that have already registered for the event, to advise them of this change and to arrange refunds of the registration fees if anglers are unable to join us in May' said committee secretary Ms Kate Lowrie. 'We already have anglers booked in from as far as Queensland and South Australia so our priority will be contacting these anglers before they begin travelling' Ms Lowrie said. 'We really hope the majority will still be able to join us in May'.

'We would like to thank all of our generous sponsors for their continued support during these unfortunate circumstances. And a very big thank you also to all of our anglers and their families, our marshals, exhibitors, caterers, entertainers and volunteers for their understanding' said Mr Ryan. 'We also send our thoughts and best wishes to everyone in the flood affected areas and hope they are all able to recover quickly'.

People are encouraged to continue registering for the event and to also book their camping spots at Gogeldrie Weir.

Further information, programs and entry forms are available online at Leeton Tourism or by emailing; Bidgeefishingclassic@hotmail.com

The Griffith Marine & Caravans Bidgee Classic Fishing Competition will be held on 4th, 5th & 6th Mat 2012 at Gogeldrie Weir, Leeton. Fun for the whole family!!