TRA administers The National Visitation Survey (NVS) which is the independent source of domestic tourism statistics used by the federal and state governments.

Central NSW Tourism now has access to the same NVS data to provide invaluable market intelligence to its local government partners and private industry members,enabling them to see how each local government area is performing.

The Central NSW region recorded an estimated 467,000 overnight visitors during the three months to December 2009, which represents an increase of 27.7 per cent on the September quarter 2009 figures and an increase of 18.8 per cent on the figures from the same period last year.

The number of visitor nights in the region was also up, with over 1.2 million visitor nights in the region recorded, an increase of 34.2 per cent on the September quarter figures and an increase of 2.5 per cent from the same period last year.

The December 2009 quarter visitation figures represent an important economic benefit to the region, bringing in an estimated $78.1 million during that period.

Marje Prior, CEO of Central NSW Tourism, said the results were promising for a region that has been impacted by the decline in domestic tourism.

"Our region has such a vibrant tourism industry. We have world class attractions and events throughout the region, some of the best food and wine in Australia, diverse cultural and heritage attractions, supported by our warm country hospitality."