Regional New South Wales offers a variation on the everyday CBD conference. And when the location of a meeting does a lot to determine its outcome, meeting planners are increasingly finding that regional conferencing also offers cost effective solutions to their meeting needs.
The rich and diverse regions of NSW, such as the Central Coast, Coffs Coast, the Eurobodalla Nature Coast, Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley provide delegates with a host of experiences not to be found in the cities.
With a gentler pace and far more serene surroundings than major urban sprawls, meeting in Regional NSW does not mean a drop in service standards. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The region’s relaxed lifestyle is complemented by well-reputed chain hotels and resorts, and serviced by up-to-date facilities and excellent on-the-ground personnel. Many towns have professional meeting and event managers who can assist with everything from transport to sourcing unique venues, caterers and much more.
Many venues are well equipped to meet the requirements for audio visual and staging support. With such a close proximity to Sydney in the car or in the air, regional New South Wales destinations provide the perfect mix for meetings with a difference away from the office and the distractions of major cities.
The regions in NSW take pride in their wondrous backdrops, and many now offer a range of special events that can be included in programs. Many centres have entertainers and local identities who can provide delegates with a perspective of the area’s history and tradition in a way that could be relevant to the meeting. At the same time many of Australia’s greatest sportspeople have their lives and work on show in the museums and sportsgrounds across the region, having hailed from country NSW, or being in a team based there.
At last count there were 15 designated regional areas of New South Wales. Borders and re-naming of these occur periodically but the fact is that the main centres aren’t going to go away anytime soon.
Over the following pages we give readers a snapshot of these destinations and hope that you might consider taking your group away from the big city lights to a region where the air is clear, the people friendly and the meetings memorable.
Blue Mountains
The Blue Mountains is already a favoured destination for meetings for Sydney-based organisations not only because of its proximity to the Sydney CBD but because of the facilities and beauty of the region.
Not only is the region developing a reputation as a great destination for corporate retreats, it is also a great place for unique team-building options and fun and games.
Internationally, the Blue Mountains is also becoming recognised and utilised, particularly by Sydney-based conference group tours.
With spectacular wilderness areas, scenic walking trails, an abundance of eco-tourism soft adventure opportunities including abseiling, rock climbing, horse riding and canyoning, inspiring gardens, quaint antique shops, retail outlets and fine food, the Blue Mountains has something for everyone.
About 90 minutes by car or bus from the centre of Sydney or a bit longer by train, the Blue Mountains offers an abundance of first-rate hotels and meetings facilities of all shapes and sizes. One of the best for the meetings market is the York Fairmont Resort (formerly a Peppers property).
The York Fairmont Resort has 210 deluxe accommodation rooms, 13 conference rooms with a maximum capacity of 800 delegates, and plenty of recreational options including an indoor and outdoor heated pool and spa, games room, three tennis courts, one squash court, massage and beauty rooms, and one of the largest high ropes courses in the southern hemisphere.
Contact Blue Mountains Tourism on www.visitbluemountains.com.au for further details.
The Shoal Bay Beach Club has arrived just in time as the resort has been witness to a spike in requests for team-building activities for conference groups.
Groups staying at the 4.5-star property can take their groups outdoors to enjoy the natural assets of Shoal Bay. The Shoal Bay Beach Club activities include kayaking, sailing and surfing lessons, beach volleyball, beach Olympics, beach Oztag, drum workshops, jet-boating and parasailing.
Also available in the local area are quad-bike tours, 4WD and 6WD tours, and horse-riding, and exciting team challenges and experiences can be developed for delegates. Options include “The Big Picture” with teams recreating master art on giant canvasses, “Survivor Beach Challenge”, “Beach Club Catapult & Kayak Challenge”, and many more.
Visit www.shoalbayresort.com for details.
Central Coast
Almost as well known for its boardrooms as its beaches, the Central Coast is one of New South Wales’ most popular regional conference destinations, now just one hour from Sydney.
The spectacular coastline, stunning beaches, vast waterways and picturesque valleys surrounded by national parks makes the Central Coast a natural choice for conferences. The region offers a wide variety of venues – from luxurious seaside hotels to country resorts set in the bush.
Popular properties include Rafferty’s Resort on Lake Macquarie, Dooralong Valley Resort, and the exceptional Crowne Plaza Terrigal. For those seeking an executive hideaway it’s hard to go past Kims Beachside Retreat.
Central Coast Tourism is planning a familiarisation tour in February (see advertisement on page 136 of this edition). Contact Central Coast Tourism on www.visitcentralcoast.com.au for further details.
Central NSW
A few years back the region now known as Central New South Wales was called “Explorer Country”. Perhaps the powers that be thought that the wording gave the connotation that the region was too “out there” for anybody’s good. It isn’t.
Hop in your car and you’ll be driving into Central NSW from Sydney in just under four hours. The major cities of the area include Orange, Mudgee, Bathurst and Dubbo, all of which offer some excellent venues, and their own unique attractions.
Orange has a variety of facilities while Bathurst, the home to Australia’s greatest car race, is popular. Dubbo is home to the impressive Western Plains Zoo that caters wonderfully well to groups. Mudgee has really come of age in recent times, and is now a popular wine-growing region of some note.
Contact the Mudgee Region Convention Bureau on www.mudgee.org for details.
The Hunter
The Hunter continues to hold its place as the most popular tourism destination in New South Wales, and is doing pretty well in the business events category too.
About one-and-a-half hours from Sydney the destination includes Hunter Valley Wine Country where the majority of wineries are located, and the Newcastle region.
The city of Newcastle continues to welcome an increasing number of conference groups to the destination, many of which are discovering the charms of this coastal town.
In wine country the focus is on wine, food and golf. According to Hunter Valley Wine Country Tourism, hugely popular at present for groups are cooking schools and food and wine matching experiences. Numerous venues offer wine-making dinners, cooking classes and similar experiences that work well for groups. For further details visit www.winecountry.com.au or www.nvcb.com.au for information on Newcastle.
Illawarra
Just over one hour south of Sydney, the Illawarra region of NSW includes Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama. Wollongong is undoubtedly the hub of the destination and has the facilities to match. Wollongong is home to the Wollongong Entertainment Centre which can seat more than 5000 delegates, and the Novotel Northbeach Wollongong.
This property is located right on the beach and has a large number of repeat visits by groups who love the location, rooms, meeting facilities and, of course, friendly staff.
Wollongong is also home to the Nan Tien Buddhist Temple, and offers plenty of unique activities “beyond the ballroom”. One of the greatest is Jamberoo Action Park, offering wall-to-wall waterslides and other fun things that act as a great refresher to jaded delegates.
For further details contact Wollongong Conference & Events by visiting www.tourismwollongong.com.au.
North Coast
Extending from Port Stephens to Coffs Harbour, the North Coast is a diverse destination with lakes, mountains, beaches, and of course plenty of great conference facilities.
The region is well serviced by airlines. For example, earlier this year VirginBlue announced flights from Sydney to Port Macquarie, giving meeting planners greater options for taking their groups to this stunning destination.
Port Macquarie is set to open a new performing arts and cultural centre mid-2008 that will be a welcome addition to the local region’s conference inventory. For larger meetings the Port Macquarie RSL can cater for up to 1000 delegates.
In Coffs Harbour there are plenty of options for groups. One of the more popular venues is the Novotel Pacific Bay Resort. It offers one of the largest residential conference venues in regional Australia and has a nine-hole golf course to boot. For more serious golfers it is hard to go past Bonville International Golf Resort which also offers great off-site facilities for special events.
Capital Country
Capital Country is the region surrounding Canberra and includes the Southern Highlands, Goulburn, historic Braidwood and Bungendore and Queanbeyan. It offers some great meetings facilities and plenty of things to see and do “beyond the ballroom”.
The Capital Country region abounds with beautiful scenery and gardens, wineries, antique shops, galleries and pavement cafes. The many historic townships are fascinating to stroll through.
For those who enjoy some adventure there is plenty to do in this region. You can visit the spectacular Wombeyan Caves, waterski, bushwalk or abseil. And the close proximity to Canberra allows for day or half-day visits to some of Australia’s best attractions.
There are numerous cold climate vineyards and wineries contained within three distinct wine-growing regions – the Canberra district centres around Murrumbateman and Lake George, the Southern Highlands, with more than 20 vineyards, and the Hilltops region around Young and Harden
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Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island is regarded as a region in itself in New South Wales and for good reason. The World Heritage listed Lord Howe Island has two-thirds of its landmass covered by native flora, and unspoilt beaches ring its coastline.
Less than two hours by air, visitors to the island are limited to a maximum of 400 at any one time.
Hotels are mainly small, colonial style lodges offering freshly caught seafood in garden courtyards overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Just 11km long and 2km at its widest point, Lord Howe Island is jam-packed with exciting sights and activities. Ideally, the island provides a great incentive destination for companies wishing to bring their clients on a soft adventure tour.
For break-outs or events beyond conference sessions the island is a smorgasbord of outdoor pursuits for people of all ages and levels of fitness. An easy yet rewarding option is a bird-watching tour, with more than 130 species of permanent and migratory birds on show.
The Murray
The Murray River is one of the world’s greatest, and one of the most debated. It is within the Murray region that delegates can discover the history of the river, the charms of paddle steamers, quaint wineries, fishing, and getting out in the great outdoors.
For many years the twin towns of Albury-Wodonga have been singled out by travellers to break their journey overland from Melbourne to Sydney. Today, Albury-Wodonga is one of the region’s greatest centres for convention activity.
A bustling inland city, Albury-Wodonga is the hub of the region, thanks in part to the Albury Convention & Performing Arts Centre which continues to impress meeting and event planners from far and wide.
It is in the Murray region that visitors can discover Lake Hume, a mecca for water lovers providing a year-round playground, and a great destination for team-based activities.
Echuca-Moama, with its rich colonial heritage, is another popular destination for meetings, offering a variety of facilities. This is the closest Murray town to Melbourne (less than three hours by car).
Visit www.destinationalburywodonga.com.au for further details.
The City of Coffs Harbour was host to 6000 Ulysses members and more than 500 trade representatives in 2007 for the annual general meeting which included entertainment, touring and sightseeing, club business, trade shows, three marriages and a gala dinner for 4300 people under one roof.
Coffs Coast marketing manager, Rob Cleary and Coffs Coast Ulysses AGM co-ordinator, Phil Johnston accepted the festivals and events award on behalf of the city and club at the awards presentation.
Mr Cleary said, “The combined efforts of Coffs Harbour City Council, the Ulysses AGM organising committee and the community of Coffs Coast ensured that the event ran smoothly and that the people of Coffs Coast warmly welcomed the members into the community.”
Mr Johnston said that Coffs Coast now has 6000 goodwill ambassadors all around Australia as a result of the highly successful staging of the AGM.
“Coffs Harbour proved to be the best ever AGM for Ulysses due to the professional project management approach taken by the Ulysses organising committee and the city council,” he said.
New England North West
New England North West was previously known as Big Sky Country. Nevertheless, the towns of Tamworth and Armidale haven’t moved anywhere, and continue to be the key destinations in this area of New South Wales.
Armidale is a city of culture and learning, and is home to the University of New England. As such, it has a relatively young and vibrant population, and has the ability to cater for groups of more than 1000 delegates at any one time.
Tamworth is one of New South Wales’ most experienced in terms of throwing an event, playing host to the hugely popular Country Music Festival in January each year.
Tamworth’s Peel Street has a wonderful cosmopolitan feel to it, and is full of welcoming people. Your delegates will certainly know what country hospitality is all about when they visit Tamworth. Go to www.visittamworth.com or www.armidaleconferences.com.au.
Northern Rivers
The so-called Northern Rivers area of regional New South Wales has been one of the most active in the conference industry in recent years following the opening of the Byron at Byron Resort Spa and Conference Centre and activity further north in the Tweed area, including the huge Salt development.
Byron Bay has always been a popular tourism destination and has grown to become one of the most popular business tourism destinations since the Byron at Byron was opened a few years ago now.
Positioned at Australia’s most easterly point, Byron Bay is internationally famous for its cosmopolitan flair and the alternative lifestyles of many of its residents. Byron Bay pulses with life from early in the morning to late at night. Street entertainment, live bands and entertainment, shops and markets, cafes and restaurants ensures there is plenty to do for delegates. Air access to the region is great.
The Tweed Coast at Kingscliff, is also attracting business events in greater numbers. It is home to Peppers Salt Resort & Spa, the Bale Salt Village, and Mantra on Salt Beach.
Outback NSW
Broken Hill is Outback New South Wales. This region was called The Living Outback until some smart bureaucrat working in the tourism industry thought that it needed a change. Nevertheless, Broken Hill remains the centrepiece, and continues to amaze and delight first-time visitors. Broken Hill is just over two hours by air from Sydney. You can drive if you like, but wasting a day in a car may not be every delegate’s cup of tea.
The city of Broken Hill was founded in the glory days of mining when silver and lead was discovered. Today, tourism is big business, with the city offering more than 1000 hotel rooms and plenty of options for conference groups. For further details visit www.visitbrokenhill.com.au.
Riverina
The Riverina region extends from the rugged snow-capped mountains of the world-famous Kosciuszko National Park through the state’s south-western slopes to the vast outback plains. Its main towns are Wagga Wagga and Griffith.
The Riverina is said to provide conference delegates with the opportunity to unwind and discover the natural and relaxed feel of contemporary rural Australia less than one hour by air from Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide. A little known fact is that the Riverina accounts for something like 60 per cent of all wine production in New South Wales. It is home to many nationally and internationally known wineries, several of which are reputed to produce more wine than the entire Hunter Valley.
The destination hosts a broad range of accommodation options, with Wagga Wagga possibly the pick of the bunch.
Snowy Mountains
The Snowy Mountains is hugely popular with conference groups in both summer and winter, with an abundance of accommodation options and styles, all just over one hour by air, or five hours from Sydney by road.
Accommodation and meetings facilities are available in Jindabyne at the foot of the mountains or Perisher and Thredbo.
In winter the snow-covered slopes and blue skies at Thredbo, Perisher Blue, Mt Selwyn and Charlotte Pass offer some of the finest skiing and snowboarding in Australia.
In summer conference delegates can explore the “snowies” by horse or on foot along the many trails, fish in the sparkling lakes and streams, mountain bike, play golf, and even try white water rafting.
South Coast
The South Coast of New South Wales is a coastline of sensational beaches, dramatic coastline and quaint villages stretching from Berry to Eden near the Victorian border.
There are more than 10 national parks in the region, unspoilt beaches, an extensive artistic scene, an abundance of history, and plenty of great options for meetings and events.
The South Coast boasts a large range of activities to satisfy conference delegates including golf, ocean fishing, swimming, surfing, cruising, dolphin watching, bushwalking, mountain bike riding, and plenty more.
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