Prior to this this year’s festival, 6000 copies of the Bathurst Regional Council run program were printed, with 5500 of them distributed to locations around the city and surrounding regions.

Council’s community and cultural director Alan Cattermole said it was a survey that convinced them to stop printing the program and move it online.

“[It] is based on evidence provided by a 2016 research report that states 84 per cent of visitors to Bathurst seek information online,” he said.

“The online tool provides the opportunity to reach a wide audience, to drive bookings, provide flexibility to a mix of relevant online advertising placements in addition to accurately measuring usage results.”

When asked, council would not confirm the cost of printing the programs or if this cost was a factor in the decision to go online.

The move online has not been welcomed by some Western Advocate readers.

“I always liked the booklet, what about the many thousands of people who don't have the Internet,” Dianne Sanders posted to Facebook.

“Booklet please. [I] keep getting error messages when I try to access website,” Kaye Price posted. 

Abercrombie House’s Christopher Morgan was the founding chair of the festival and said change can be good, but only if it delivers greater benefits.

“An online presence is a very sensible evolution, but whether or not that is done at the expense of the published document is the question,” he said.

“There is no way of knowing, but one hopes it will be a success.”

Bathurst Family History Group’s Jacqui Rudge she had initial concerns that the older clientele the group’s events are marketed to would be disadvantaged by the online move.

“I was assured by the Bathurst Visitor Information Centre that they were open to anyone who wants help. They can help you online, with the booking and the searching,” she said.

Mr Cattermole said while council appreciated that some people were concerned by the program’s move online, he said there are benefits.

“The change also allows us to update and revise the program throughout the Autumn Colours period,” he said.