Tourism figures for 2022 close to best on record

Cobar Shire Council’s tourism figures collected for 2022 of 27,999 visitors are close to being the best ever visitor figures on record.

Council’s Tourism Manager Demi Smith reported the annual visitor figures at last Thursday’s Tourism Committee meeting at the Cobar Bowling & Golf Club.

Demi said we had been on track to record our best year yet, however with flooding closing the Kidman Way Road from October to December, it had a significant effect on the visitor numbers over the final quarter of the year.

She said 2022 was however the museum’s best ever year for visitors with more than 11,500 passing through the doors and helped to create their best year of revenue to date.

The visitors had travelled from every state and territory in Australia along with 271 visitors from overseas.

Also boosting the visitor numbers last year were 1,727 visits to the museum by Cobar residents!

That trend looks like it will continue with Demi reporting visitor figures for January 2023 were tracking better than last year.

Demi also advised the meeting the next two phases of the museum’s upgrade projects have been delayed due to increasing building costs.

She said the plans for the coach house upgrade and underground mining centre are currently being re-configured to meet the budget.

Cobar Shire Council

mail@cobar.nsw.gov.au

PO Box 223, COBAR, NSW, 2835

Peter Vlatko, General Manager