Far horizons

Getting away from it all has never been easier in the North-West of New South Wales.

It may come as a surprise to many city-bound conference delegates that a thriving meetings industry exists in the regional areas of New South Wales. That such places regularly host thousands of visitors at a time may seem even more unusual. But places such as Tamworth, in the New England region, do just that on a regular basis.

Tamworth has garnered a reputation as the Country Music Capital of Australia and each January the Tamworth Country Music Festival gathers some 50,000 devotees from around the country. As a result, the city’s 60 motels, hotels and other forms of accommodation have been able to refine their already outstanding service standards to cater for the meetings industry. Part of this appeal lies in the cultural character of this fascinating and welcoming city and it certainly extends far beyond country music with a range of museum and art galleries.

>> Conference & meeting venues in Northwest NSW

Much to do
Activities around the area include 4WD tours, hang-gliding and paragliding at Manilla. Nearby Nundle, 45 minutes from Tamworth, has become quite an upmarket boutique tourism destination in its own right and has some of the best fishing in the state.

Tamworth is about 500 kilometres from Sydney and 600 kilometres from Brisbane via the New England Highway. Tamworth Airport has regularly scheduled flights to Sydney and other regional areas.

The regional conference industry is all about providing experiences that can’t be duplicated in the big cities. With fresh air, beautiful scenery, outstanding flora and fauna, a relaxed ambience and an all-budgets appeal, such areas as Tamworth have won many conference groups and there’s a high percentage of repeat business to such places.