VISITORS to the Taronga Western Plains Zoo will be able to “immerse in amongst native wildlife” due to a new program at Dubbo’s famous facility.
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The new overnight wildlife experience will consist of 20 tents located nearby a billabong in the Australian Wildlife section of the zoo and will hold up to 80 people each night.
Dubbo Zoo has received $100,000 from the Regional Tourism Product Development Funding Program to establish the project, adding to the accommodation mix available at the facility.
The same program also gave $200,000 in funding to the Cockatoo Island Film Institute, formerly known as Dungog Film Festival Ltd.
Taronga Western Plains Zoo general manager Matthew Fuller said the overnight wildlife experience was “key to growing the education market in Dubbo” and would hopefully open later in 2012.
“The zoo is all about making really compelling propositions to connect people with wildlife,” he said.
The new program will focus on school groups during the week and visiting families on weekends.
Guests will have close encounters with native Australian wildlife and have hands on experiences with animals such as reptiles.
“What better way to do it than actually physically stay here in the heart of the zoo, right in the public area, right in open space that is absolutely beautiful, immersed in amongst native wildlife?” Mr Fuller said.
Another big project is also due to add the zoo experience.
Cockatoo Island Film Institute chief executive Stavros Kazantzidis was in Dubbo to discuss the festival with stakeholders in the community.
“The Cockatoo Institute has been running the festival in Dungog, which has grown from 1500 people to 10,000 in the space of five years,” he said.
There are also plans to expand the festival to places such as Broken Hill and Armidale.
Mr Kazantzidis believes the $200,000 funding granted to the festival was recognition from
the NSW government “that cultural events bring a lot of economic development to regional NSW”.
As an Inland NSW Tourism board member Mr Fuller also expressed excitement at the Cockatoo Institute Ltd gaining $200,000 in funding.
He said Dubbo had “been craving these iconic festivals” and thought the five year-old film festival would add “metropolitan culture and sophistication” to the city.