The Highlands experienced its biggest tourism weekend in the region's history, thanks to two major events held over the long weekend.
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The 59th Tulip Time Festival continued in Corbett Garden in Bowral, while the Southern Highlands Food and Wine Festival took place at the iconic Bradman Oval.
This year's Tulip Time Festival recorded its biggest visitation ever with attendance over 14 days reaching 54,500 visitors, seeing a 14 per cent increase over last year.
This increase also included a further increase of four per cent from locals visiting the festival.
Wingecarribee Shire Council Mayor Duncan Gair praised the service of the council's parks and gardens team, staff from Destination Southern Highlands, volunteers and the community for all pitching in and making this year's festival a success.
Destination Southern Highlands tourism coordinator Izabella Lane said the weather, program of events, entertainment, theme and display of tulips contributed to the festival's success.
"Our extensive marketing also penetrated markets that we have not witnessed before with a large influx of international expats from Western Sydney," she said.
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"While Bowral and surrounding villages were bursting at the seams, businesses in the region benefited from all the activity generated by the events over the long weekend and throughout the 14-day festival.
"Tulip Time in particular continues to contribute enormously to the local visitor economy with millions of dollars flowing through all the tourism touch points."
Planning will soon start to build on this year's overwhelming success with an expression of interest going out in the coming weeks to secure next year's Tulip Time charity partner for the event's 60-year anniversary in 2020.