Cessnock City Council is pleased to announce the latest round of Visitor Economy Grants in an effort to boost local business through mid-week tourism.

Organisations or individuals hoping to host events, projects and conferences in the Hunter Valley region are invited to apply for the Visitor Economy Grants. The grants provide funding to successful applicants to support mid-week visitation through business events, special events and event projects.

The funding from the program aims to attract organisations to the Hunter Valley for conferences and events, instead of competitor regions such as Sydney, Melbourne, the Central Coast or Newcastle.

The program builds on Council’s aim to facilitate the growth of the Hunter Valley visitor economy according to the draft Hunter Valley Destination Management Plan 2022-2030.

Cessnock City Mayor Jay Suvaal said Council’s support of midweek visitation will provide a significant boost to the local economy.

“The Visitor Economy Grants will bring new markets and income to the area,” Mayor Suvaal said.

“The program will create more local jobs and boost the economy. The figures show that with just 10% more mid-week visitors we could create up to $15 million of extra cashflow in the Cessnock Local Government Area.”

Plan Your Event Hunter is one of the local businesses that has received a Visitor Economy Grant from Council.

Plan Your Event has recently launched an easy to navigate website showcasing everything needed to pull off the perfect event in the Hunter. The company is particularly interested in equipping potential visitors with the information they need to secure mid-week group tourism in the form of health and wellness retreats, training days, business conferences, team building activities, multi-day lifestyle events, entertainment, family events and weddings.

Rachel Fraser from Plan Your Event Hunter said Council’s contributions mean better support for all of the local businesses her company interacts with.

“I’m passionate about improving small business growth and the socio-economic development of our beautiful region. I’m convinced that Plan Your Event Hunter will create amazing opportunities for a wide variety of local businesses.”

Applications for the second round of grants will take place in February 2023.

For more information on the Visitor Economy Grants, click here

For more information on Plan your event Hunter click here