Event Revitalisation Plan
THIRLMERE FESTIVAL OF STEAM, NSW
Thirlmere Festival of Steam has taken place in March each year in Thirlmere southwest of Sydney for thirty years. The festival is a strongly sensory experience, like walking onto a film set or stepping back in time – visitors smell the coal smoke, hear steam engines firing up and trains shunting carriages, and see costumes from another era.
Not far from Sydney you can step back in time to experience theatre and magic that you can’t find anywhere else in NSW: many steam engines at the same time on a rail line not shared with modern trains and their timetables. The festival’s key attractions are steam train rides and the extensive steam and rail assets of THNSW’s NSW Rail Museum, the largest such collection in Australia.
The festival in more recent times has been run as two co-occurring events under the umbrella of one name, with ticketed in-museum activities within the museum’s fence held over two days; and market stalls, carnival rides, live entertainment and a parade held on the village streets beside the museum on one day (Sunday), organised by a volunteer community.
Project Purpose
The Wollondilly Destination Management Plan identified expansion of the Thirlmere Festival of Steam into a signature destination event as a gamechanger project for the shire because of its potential to have a major impact on the Shire’s visitor economy through increased visitor yield, growing visitor average length of stay, shifting visitation from daytrips to overnight, the generation of new investment into the Shire, and ensuring the community are advocates for the visitor economy.
Wollondilly Shire Council and Transport Heritage NSW (THNSW) contracted Tilma Group to develop a five-year strategic event revitalisation plan for the festival to support its reinvigoration and ensure a smooth transition from an event management partnership between Rotary Club of Picton and THNSW to a new partnership between Council and THNSW.
The purpose of the event revitalisation plan was to provide a blueprint on how to:
smoothly transition the management of the event to a new partnership
develop into a significant destination event for Wollondilly
improve the economic benefits the Shire receives from the event
leverage the Shire’s unique and significant rail history and heritage
efficiently resource and manage the event
increase revenue and revenue streams
appeal to high value visitor markets
build a positive community and visitor profile
Project Overview
Insights from research and consultations with stakeholders were distilled into four key priorities for the next five years whill will be actioned in two phases:
2021: a smooth transition to a new management model
2022-2024: development into a state significant event for regional NSW
Consultation was a central thread in the development of this plan. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions on travel, meetings and focus groups were undertaken via phone and video conference. As the 2020 festival was cancelled due to bushfires, the consultants were unable to have a first-hand experience of the festival as planned.
The methodology encompassed
Review - Desktop review of festival documentation, relevant regional strategic plans, and visitor statistics.
Engage - Consultation consisted of 16 meetings with 30 festival stakeholders. Targeted online surveys were sent to local businesses, festival stallholders, and members of the community. The engagement was used to discuss the festival’s challenges and opportunities.
Analyse - The draft plan was developed based on analysis of the desktop research and stakeholder input and shared with the Project Reference Group for feedback.
Finalise - Feedback was incorporated into the final business plan
Outcomes
Because of COVID, 2023 was the first time the Festival was held by the two new planning/delivery partners. Though this was the biggest Thirlmere Festival of Steam ever, it was also the easiest to run, and the partners feel confident that the Festival’s elevation into NSW’s premier steam festival is going in the right direction.
Highlights included:
Approximately 16,000 attendees
Record entry into the NSW Rail Museum (409% increase)
Record and sold-out train tickets sales (67% increase)
40% of attendees from outside the Shire
92% of attendees would like to attend again
An estimated $89 expenditure per visitor (56% higher than average daytrip visitor to Wollondilly)
An estimated economic impact of $3.5 million
Local businesses had record sales
Over 150 volunteers supported the Festival’s delivery
Several community groups were involved with the Festival, such as for fundraising or showcasing their interest to the public
“Thank you to the team at Tilma Group for your professionalism and expertise in the events and consultancy space.
We were extremely happy with all aspects of work undertaken in the development and delivery of our events review and expansion strategy.
The level of detail, engagement and guidance provided throughout the development process was greatly appreciated and created opportunity for good discussion and collaboration to deliver a well thought out and detailed strategy.
We would highly recommend your services.”
Referee
Kersti Martin
Project Officer – Tourism & Business Investment
Wollondilly Shire Council
0246779753
kersti.martin@wollondilly.nsw.gov.au
www.wollondilly.nsw.gov.au