They also voted to endorse the allocation of any remaining BCRERF funding for projects to assist the tourism sector in bushfire recovery.

Originally the 2020 budget for tourism was $20,000 and Senior Economic Development and Destination Manager Andrew Powrie said that the extra $50,000 would allow them to do "significantly more" than originally planned.

In early 2019, Lithgow Tourism unveiled its first digital marketing campaign in more than five years and have since been releasing 'Lithgow Destination movies' as well as creating a digital campaign.

According to Mr Powrie, there will be a number of marketing initiatives funded from the $50,000 including but not limited to; PR, digital and online marketing, editorial stories and features, electronic direct mail to target visitor customer segments and the development of a visitor database to enable ongoing destination news and updates to drive repeat visitation.

Mr Powrie said that international travel restrictions means the domestic visitation market is primed to flourish.

"Lithgow truly is an amazing destination, and so close to the Sydney market, and it is vital we put our region at the forefront of the destination decision making process of potential visitors," he said.

When asked if Mr Powrie believed that it was important for tourism to receive the funding instead of residents affected, he said that tourism was vital to supporting the recovery.

"There is a direct link to supporting our residents as visitors spend money in local businesses, which our locals own, and where our residents work," he said.

As for what Mr Powrie would like to see for the Lithgow area in the months to come, he said continued high visitor numbers.

"Continued high visitor numbers spending money locally to support our local businesses who have been significantly impacted," he said.

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