A new Coffs Coast Events website – www.coffscoastevents.com – has gone live today aimed at increasing visitor numbers to the region by helping event organisers create successful happenings and festivals that capture, and grow, a broad audience.
“Events play a significant role in attracting large volumes of new and repeat visitors to Coffs Harbour, as well as providing a huge variety of entertainment for local residents,” said Nikki Greenwood, Council’s Group Leader City Prosperity. “They also play a vital role in showcasing the region and injecting significant economic value back into the community.
“Coffs Harbour is already internationally recognised as an event-friendly city, having been awarded the globally-recognised ‘World Festival and Event City Award’ for the past two years by the International Festival and Event Association – and we want to continue to build on that reputation.”
In 2016, Council adopted the Coffs Harbour Events Strategy 2020 to provide a strategic framework to develop and retain unique events on the Coffs Coast.
One of its key results is the new website, which is specifically designed to assist event organisers in planning their events on the Coffs Coast. It includes event guides, free planning tools and templates, as well as supplier and event directories.
“We are excited to be able to offer a greater level of service and support to the event community, for both new events trying to start up on the Coffs Coast and those looking to grow and expand,” said Daniel Heather, Council’s Section Leader, Stadium and Major Events.
Two new event funding programmes are also now available for events being held in the Coffs Harbour local government area.
Event Seed Funding offers grants of up to $5,000 and is designed to support start-up or new events, or those new to the area, in their most critical early stages.
The Event Destination Marketing programme offers grants of up to $10,000 and its focus is to help established events that are trying to bring more visitors to the event and region by supporting the development of promotions and marketing campaigns.
The funding round for the new programmes closes on September 1, 2017. Further details and information on making an application can be found on www.coffscoastevents.com
