2LT Local News

Turon Gates Eco Retreat official opening at Capertee

Oct 29, 2018

CAPERTEE, Central West, NSW, Australia – The $743,000 expansion of the Turon Gates Eco Retreat saw its official opening on Friday.

Earlier this year the local tourism operator was successful in securing a grant of $371,650 to support a $743,300 project to build six luxury “glamping” tents and a restaurant tent at its eco-mountain retreat in Capertee.

The funding was from the 2017/18 round of the Tourism Demand- Driver Infrastructure (TDDI) program, administered by the State Government to support tourism projects that drive demand and increase local tourism expenditure.

“I’m delighted to be here at Turon Gates today to support this next stage of the Turon Gates development at Capertee. The money has enabled the owners to construct six glamping tents and appoint them with luxury finishes including fixed and non-fixed furniture, plumbing and electricity,” Member for Bathurst Paul Toole said when opening the extension on Friday.

“Turon Gates offers a high quality tourism experience in the region, a quiet, unspoilt authentic bush hideaway and with this expansion now completed, it hopes to double the number of visitors to its world-class facilities.”

The funding aims to support the delivery of projects that contribute to Tourism 2020 outcomes, namely to achieve more than $115 billion in overnight visitor spending by 2020 (up from $70 billion in 2009).

Mr Toole said tourism is one of New South Wales’s most important sectors and support for projects like this at Turon Gates is vital to help local communities and economies grow and prosper.

“At the heart of the sector’s success are the many hard-working individuals and businesses across NSW who work tirelessly to deliver world-class tourism experiences like this one,” he said.

According to Michael Lunoe from Turon Gates the aim is to tap into the worldwide phenomenon that is known as “glamping”.

“People are so sick of the built up environment these days and want a different holiday experience where they can get back to nature,” Mr Lunoe said.

“Camping is appealing, but people just don’t have the equipment or location to go to. They also want a luxury experience without having to rough it in the bush.

“The ‘glamping’ phenomenon is going global and ticks all the boxes for those people who want a hotel-like room in the bush – a bit like going on safari.”

Mr Lunoe said that previously they only had one “glamping” tent, but this expansion would help meet demand by increasing that number by another six as well as including a restaurant tent … all being eco-friendly.

“We see this as being a major tourism boost for the local area, especially to a worldwide market that has opened up since joining sites like hotels.com, tripadvisor and bookings.com,” he said. “The possibilities for our future growth with this assistance are just amazing.”