COUNCILLOR Andrew Smith thinks sporting identities should be used to increase traffic and sales through Bathurst's museums.
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The suggestion comes amid questions in the community around Bathurst Regional Council's finances and whether or not its museums are being used to their full potential.
Over the 2023 Bathurst 1000 period, the National Motor Racing Museum saw some of its most impressive visitation yet.
There was a 10 per cent increase in visitation from the same period in 2022, with more than 6000 people coming through the doors between September 30 and October 9.
But even better than the visitation was the retail sales, with close to $77,500 processed over the same period, which is a 52 per cent increase from the previous year.
Both attendance and retail results are the second highest figures for the corresponding race week period in the NMRM's history, bettered only by the 2012 Bathurst 1000 race week.
![Councillor Andrew Smith. Picture file Councillor Andrew Smith. Picture file](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/gfyFBZ2A3aREPWrpf4KzA3/37271ab4-fcea-4533-b84c-b8f6f554e027.JPG/r0_0_5472_3648_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Cr Smith thinks one of the key things that contributed to the success was having motor sport identities visit the facility and be part of other off-track events.
The NMRM hosted a sell-out V8 Sleuth Open Night event with 200 guests for a Q and A evening with legendary driver Larry Perkins, and motor sport media veteran Aaron Noonan - also the head of V8 Sleuth - participated in an author talk at Bathurst Library.
Cr Smith believes these events would have generated significant retail sales.
He wants Bathurst Regional Council to increase these opportunities for fans to get close to industry icons, believing they have the power to generate more visitation and expenditure at the museums.
"I just think there's opportunity there if we can look [at] possibly, once every three months, of engaging people like that and having a ticketed event and then bring that into the retail sales," he said.