Arts North West Cultural Tourism Workshops

Arts North West is inviting artists, cultural organisations, tourism operators, councils and community leaders to explore the growing opportunities of cultural tourism through two upcoming workshops led by renowned cultural tourism specialist Andrew Gray.

Developed in response to the findings of the Regional Arts Network's 2024 Regional Cultural Tourism Report, the workshops will introduce participants to the Cultural Tourism Toolkit—a practical resource designed to help communities identify, develop and promote cultural experiences that attract visitors and strengthen local economies.

Workshop facilitator Andrew Gray is Executive Producer of Crimson Rosella Creative Adventures and one of Australia's leading cultural tourism and regional arts specialists. With more than 30 years' experience across the arts, museums, heritage, festivals and regional development sectors, Andrew has worked with communities across Australia to transform cultural assets into memorable visitor experiences.

Participants will gain practical insights into:

Understanding cultural tourism and its role in regional development

Identifying cultural assets and local stories

Developing authentic visitor experiences

Building partnerships between arts, tourism and community sectors

Promoting cultural experiences to new audiences

Aligning cultural projects with tourism opportunities

Workshop Details

Places are limited and registrations are now open.

Arts North West is part of the NSW Regional Arts Network (RAN), a statewide network of fifteen Regional Arts Development Organisations (RADOs) working to strengthen arts, culture and creative industries across regional NSW. Recognising the growing importance of cultural tourism, RAN commenced a multi-year project to better understand how arts and culture contribute to regional visitation, economic development and community wellbeing.

In 2024, RAN commissioned leading cultural research agency Patternmakers, with support from Create NSW, to undertake a statewide Cultural Tourism Research Project. Arts North West contributed more than 3,500 regional data inputs, helping build a clearer picture of how visitors engage with arts, culture, heritage, festivals, public art and creative experiences across regional NSW. The research highlighted the significant role arts and culture play in attracting visitors, supporting local businesses and creating vibrant regional communities.

Building on these findings, RAN partnered with Patternmakers and Destination NSW in 2025 to develop practical resources that help artists, tourism operators, councils and cultural organisations work together to grow arts and cultural tourism. The resulting toolkit provides practical strategies, case studies and planning resources designed to break down sector silos and support stronger collaboration across the arts, tourism and local government sectors.

This statewide initiative provides an important foundation for growing cultural tourism across regional NSW and ensuring communities can maximise the social, cultural and economic benefits of their creative assets.

2024 Regional Cultural Tourism report

What does Cultural Tourism really look like in Regional NSW?

Cultural Tourism is a strategic focus for Arts North West and the network of 15 Regional Arts Development Organisations in NSW. The Regional Arts Network (RAN) commissioned a research report in 2024 on Cultural Tourism in regional NSW, undertaken by Patternmakers and funded through Create NSW.

As part of this research process, Arts North West identified and collated over 3500 inputs of data to better understand the impact and affects of Cultural Tourism in the NSW as well as our region. A copy of the report is available through the link below:

2024 Cultural Tourism Report - Full Version

2024 Cultural Tourism Report - Summary

what happened NEXT?

In 2025, the NSW Regional Arts Network (RAN) commissioned this new set of resources to support arts and cultural tourism in regional NSW.
Working in collaboration with research agency Patternmakers and Destination NSW, and supported by Create NSW, it interviewed a range of stakeholders and gathered examples of how arts and cultural tourism is working in different communities around the State.

These resources were prepared for the NSW Regional Arts Network by Andrew Gray as part of the Regional Futures initiative and Tandi Palmer from Patternmakers, with the support from the NSW Government through Create NSW and advice from Destination NSW.

resources for supporting arts & cultural tourism in regional nsw

Arts and cultural tourism refers to travel experiences centred on creative life, heritage and cultural expression. This includes visiting galleries and museums, attending festivals and live performances, engaging in First Nations cultural experiences, exploring heritage places, public art, literature, music, food culture and creative workshops.