Tamworth COVID-19 pandemic: city 'capitalising' on domestic travel boom

Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) economic development coordinator Kate Baker said it's an exciting time for city tourism.

TRC clocks visitor statistics by counting website users and people passing through the information centre.

"What we're finding is that numbers are continuing to track about 40 per cent up on this time last year, so we're not just seeing it at peak times, we're seeing it across the board," she told the Leader.

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While the country music capital has traditionally drawn a large amount of crowds and campers from regional areas, Ms Baker said the pandemic had shaken things up and caused city and coastal dwellers to try Tamworth.

"The Sydney market has never traditionally been a weekend market, and now they're actually extending to a three or four-day trip; we're definitely finding they're staying and discovering the region," she said.

"We've traditionally been about a three-hour radius coming to visit, and anecdotally, we have about a five-hour radius now."

Ms Baker said luring a Sydney crowd to Tamworth had been bolstered by luxurious accommodation outlets like Goonoo Goonoo Station and the Powerhouse Hotel. The Powerhouse just finished renovations to make it the first five-star hotel in regional NSW.

Powerhouse Hotel Group owner Greg Maguire said the hotel's new status is a "monumental" thing for Tamworth.

"It's bringing city families out and we're seeing more and more families bringing their children to see the bush and country life and it is ... a wonderful thing," he said.

Ms Baker said drawing new demographics was a key part of the region's COVID-19 recovery.

"We need to capitalise on the fact people are wanting to get out and travel regionally ... it's a real opportunity for us to showcase Tamworth as not only the country music capital - which is in our DNA and we're super proud of - but also all the wonderful experiences we have to offer," she said.

Although the pandemic and the resulting restrictions might have helped get people to town, Ms Baker said Tamworth's charm means many of them will come back.

"Word of mouth is so important and that's why it's so important the experience people have here is a good one, and we know that when people come ... they're so overwhelmed to find out all the other things we're about," she said.