The workshop will be entitled Beyond the Drought and will look at opportunities for rural communities, business and dryland farmers to develop on-farm, nature-based, Indigenous cultural and hosted tourism experiences with the aim of attracting increased tourist numbers to regions such as our own.

State Minister for Tourism Jodi McKay will also attend a tourism industry dinner following the conference.

The conference begins at 9am this morning and numerous guest speakers including the chair and CEO of Central NSW Tourism, the vice president of the NSW Farmers Federation, representatives of the Bed and Breakfast and Farmstays Association of NSW and ACT, president of Outback Beds Inc, CEO of Outback Tourism and the mayors of Parkes, Forbes and Cabonne will be in attendance.

Marje Prior is the CEO of Central NSW Tourism.

Ms Prior said the meeting will be the first in a series held covering the local industry and will aim to address the negative impact of the drought on tourism in smaller inland communities.

“We have got a number of initiatives in Central NSW that show what can be done when communities, local government and business work as one to address the challenges of rural decline impacted by drought. We hope the seminar will encourage people to think outside the square and explore options for creating a new tourism experience,” she said.

Ms Prior said there was a myriad of agricultural and indigenous cultural experiences available in central NSW and participants will travel from as far away as Balranald and Walgett.

“I think it’s important to acknowledge the great work our local government tourism managers do in the Lachlan region especially in events management,” she said.

Ms Prior said this was evidenced by successful events such as the Elvis Festival in Parkes, the Ben Hall Festival in Forbes, the Henry Lawson Festival in Grenfell and the Japanese Cultural Festival.

She said a whole of community approach with local government, business and the community working together will be required to combat the affects of the drought on tourism.

The seminar will be followed by a Tourism Industry Dinner which will feature guest speaker and Minister for Tourism Jodi McKay.

Ms Prior said this too will provide opportunities to hear Government tourism priorities and for local tourism operators to meet the minister.