It's On! in Newcasrtle and The Hunter

The new It’s ON! in Newcastle and The Hunter campaign has kicked off to showcase the impressive calendar of events coming up in the region during February and March.

Newcastle and The Hunter are key destinations for major sporting and cultural events, and in February and March an exciting line up of events will offer something for every visitor.

The packed schedule includes:

• Navy Australian Surf Rowers Open
• Australian Bowl-Riding Championships
• Festival of Indigenous Rugby
• Surfest, including the Visit NSW Air Show
• Diving off the Edge of the World theatre event
• Bruce Springsteen concert
• Newcastle Craft Beer Week
• The Newcastle Show
• Maitland Taste Food Wine and Music Festival
• CMC Rocks the Hunter
• Hunter Valley NHMA Tractor Trek
• Kurri Kurri Nostalgia Festival.
• The Newcastle Jets A-League team will also play home games against the Wellington Pheonix, Sydney FC and Melbourne Heart, and a Super Rugby Match will be held at Stadium Newcastle.

The NSW Government has contributed to the campaign, which will include online promotion, print advertising and media coverage to raise awareness of It’s ON! in Newcastle and The Hunter.

The campaign aims to increase visitation to the listed events and the broader region by more than 10,000 visitors during the campaign period.

Destination NSW CEO, Sandra Chipchase, said Newcastle and The Hunter region received close to 20 per cent of international visitors in regional NSW in the year ended September 2013, with the key purpose for visits being holiday and pleasure.

“Newcastle and The Hunter have great appeal with domestic and international visitors, and the It’s ON! campaign will help us build on this,” Ms Chipchase said.

“Visitors who come to the region for the events will also experience a vibrant arts culture, great food and wine, and spectacular beaches. Newcastle’s close proximity to Sydney makes it easily accessible to visitors from right across Australia and the world.”

The City of Newcastle’s Manager of Tourism and Economic Development Services, Ms Jan Ross, said: “It’s terrific to see the entire region involved in putting together such a comprehensive and diverse schedule, from world class music concerts to international sporting competitions.

“It’s ON! in Newcastle and The Hunter comes on the back of a number of successful large-scale events in Newcastle, such as the Special Olympics 2013 Asia Pacific Games, the third match in the British and Irish Lion’s 2014 tour, a number of rugby international matches and Newcastle’s success in gaining two pool games and two finals matches in next January’s AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015,” said Ms Ross.

For more information about Newcastle and The Hunter, including events during February and March, go to visitnsw.com/newcastle