THE Hunter Joint Organisation (JO) has received a $862,000 grant towards their Accelerating Event Economies (A2E) Project through the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery (BLER) Fund run by the NSW Government.

The Hunter Region already has fantastic event capability; however, there is potential for bigger and better events at a regional scale.

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This project is focused on unlocking that potential.

A2E will focus on driving economic recovery through identifying systems and processes that will make regional coordination and collaboration simpler and more effective.

These systems and processes will enable the Hunter JO and member councils to collaborate on the potential of creating and delivering a region-wide events.

Cr Bob Pynsent, Chair of the Hunter JO and Mayor of Cessnock, said this funding will be paramount to boosting the tourism industry.

“The Hunter region has so much to offer across our ten council areas, and this project presents a great opportunity for our councils to collaboratively and cohesively promote the region, enabling economic recovery in the aftermath of the bushfires and floods we have experienced over the last two years,” said Cr Bob Pynsent.

“By using a regional lens to focus on visitor economies and event attraction, we can enable economic stimulus across the whole of the Hunter, with positive benefits for all of our communities.”

The A2E project will deliver outcomes through establishing a regional partner task group, undertaking an Events and Opportunities Audit, and creating destination and event management resources required at a regional scale.

These actions are projected to result in a range of positive social and economic outcomes and public benefits for the Hunter region. A2E will aim to strengthen the region’s collective voice as a visitor and event destination, increase the capacity of Councils through shared resources, and enable councils to collaboratively pitch for major events.

Mayor of MidCoast Council, Cr David West, sees the project as an opportunity to rebuild, shoring up the economic resilience of the Hunter’s communities.

“Our communities within MidCoast have been severely impacted by bushfires and floods, and we are still recovering, as are many other communities across the Hunter region; the Hunter JO’s Accelerating Event Economies Project offers opportunities to support that recovery,” said Cr David West.

“Additionally, the focus on increasing tourism throughout the region will help support local businesses and communities as they rebuild, not only from bushfires and floods, but as we deal with the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Regional growth and economic diversification throughout the Hunter region has been a key focus area of the Hunter JO’s Regional Policy and Programs Division.

This funding from the BLER Fund, will contribute to the Hunter JO’s collaboration with its member councils and their ability to deliver efficiency savings that attract events economies and recovery from the Bushfires.