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Media Release – Friday 28 March 2014

Sail Port Stephens, which kicks off on Friday 11 April with the NSW IRC Championships and The Pantaenius Port Stephens Trophy, will see a range of positive impacts for the local Port Stephens community.

 

Event organiser, Janelle Gardner, has revealed the range of benefits to the community including the economic and social benefits.

“We’re now in our sixth year of this event and the economic impact is quite clear. The event brings in spend from visitors to the region with sailors, crew, ground organisers, friends and family all coming to the event,” said Ms Gardner.

“This impacts on every aspect of the local tourism industry from accommodation to restaurants, clubs, pubs and many other local tourist attractions, as visitors often stay on to experience more of what the region has to offer, and more importantly spend their money here.

“Socially, Sail Port Stephens provides a range of sailing events and things to see and do for visitors to the region. It’s an awesome sailing spectacle with such a stunning Port Stephens backdrop and it grows junior interest in the sport of sailing as well,” Ms Gardner said.

Sail Port Stephens would not happen each year without the generous support of the local community, major sponsors and the State Government via funding from Destination NSW.

Minister for Tourism and Major Events, George Souris, said: “The NSW Government is proud to continue its support of Sail Port Stephens, through our tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, in recognition of its importance on the NSW Events Calendar.”

“Last year, Sail Port Stephens attracted more than 1,500 visitors from across NSW and Australia, bringing around $900,000 in visitor expenditure to the region,” he said.

“Events such as Sail Port Stephens provide important benefits to local communities, and are vital to helping the NSW Government achieve its goal of doubling overnight visitor expenditure to the State by 2020.”

Sail Port Stephens will see three huge sailing events held over one big week in April on the stunning Port Stephens waterways. The NSW IRC Championships and The Pantaenius Port Stephens Trophy run from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 April and are followed by the Pantaenius Commodores Cup from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 April.

“We look forward to another successful Sail Port Stephens this year. We thank all our supporters and encourage future support from industry and the community so that we can all reap the benefits,” Ms Gardner concluded.

For more information on Sail Port Stephens visit www.sailportstephens.com.au