The annual event is held in a different city each year, but many of those who attended the latest claimed Bathurst was one of the best.

Deniliquin Council mayor Lindsay Renwick, who has years of experience attending these kinds of events, had nothing but praise for the organisers and presenters who brought the Bathurst edition to fruition. 

“The content was really good and there was a real mix,” he said.

“I’ve been to a lot of them and this is right up there with the best.”

Cr Renwick said it was important to get local councils talking about tourism and sharing ideas as it helped bring more people and more revenue to each city.

“It is only in the last 10 to 15 years we’ve realised how important tourism is,” he said.

Holding the conference in Bathurst, particularly in its bicentenary year, has also opened up the region to other councils, who were introduced to some of the local treasures.

“We all think we know so much about Bathurst, but we’ve discovered so much from being here,” Local Government NSW chief executive Donna Rygate said.

Like Cr Renwick, Ms Rygate was impressed with Bathurst as a venue for the conference. 

“Local Government NSW is very proud to have been able to bring this to Bathurst and can only congratulate [mayor] Gary Rush and the organisers on making it a success,” she said.

The tourism conference, held from Monday to Wednesday, covered a range of topics and featured various guest speakers, including local personalities. 

Bathurst Visitor Inform-ation Centre tourism manager Felicity Baines said  one message stood out.

“You’re not going to be in the limelight the whole time, but you can do things that put you in the limelight,” she said.

“We’ve got to look at what we’ve got to create in that 15 minutes of fa­me that will bring people to Bathurst later on.”