Parkes, Tamworth, Bathurst, and Broken Hill: Can Australia’s Small Town Festivals Become Global Tourism Powerhouses? Here’s What You Really Need To Know

Published on July 20, 2025

It is January in Parkes, a town about 100 kilometers west of Orange in New South Wales, and something out of the ordinary is happening. Thousands of people — more than 25,000, in fact — descend on this typically sleepy town clad in rhinestones, sequins and slicked-back hair. The streets are full of music, dancing, laughter and the distinctive drawl of one name: Elvis.

This isn’t just fandom. This is the Parkes Elvis Festival, and now one of rural Australia’s most famous cultural festivals. But Parkes is not alone. Other small towns including Tamworth, Bathurst and Broken Hill are also thrusting their small-town festivals under the global spotlight with niche, homegrown events that attract international visitors. In combination, they beg the question: Could regional events become the linchpin upon which Australia’s international tourism identity rests?

The Festival That Won Over a Town — and the Region

When the inaugural Parkes Elvis Festival was held in 1993, it was a one-night stand at a local club that drew fewer than 200 people. Flash forward to 2025 and the five-day extravaganza has snowballed into a pop cultural behemoth. According to local event assessments provided by New South Wales tourism authorities, it pumps around $11 to $13 million into the local economy each January.

From Elvis karaoke to competitions for tribute performers, dance classes, street parades and a gospel service, the festival features more than 200 scheduled events. One such train, named the Elvis Express, journeys from Sydney to Parkes, and is full of fans in full costume, ready to commence their pilgrimage to nostalgia and pleasure.

Government recognition has followed. In 2025, the New South Wales Government, supported by its event development agencies, formally designated the Parkes Elvis Festival as a Foundation Event—the state’s must-do, signature event and a key strategic event in the state’s Regional Flagship Events Program, known for its wide appeal and quality.

Tourism Economics in Action

The numbers speak volumes. Parkes has a population of less than 12,000. When just over twice that many people pour in over five days, the entire local economy — hotels, restaurants and retail shops; the gas stations; the tour guides — gets a piece. In the Destination NSW Visitor Economy Strategy, it is reported that in regional towns such as Parkes, events of this nature can contribute to visitor spend, length of stay and also international exposure for towns previously considered remote.

This economic boost isn’t isolated. It complements New South Wales’ wider strategy to increase overnight visitor expenditure and drive visitation to the regions. In 2024, regional NSW welcomed more than 30 million domestic visitors. Events like Parkes and Tamworth’s Country Music Festival combined with Bathurst’s famous races are part of the state’s ambitions to reach $25 billion in annual regional tourism spend by 2030.

The personality drive: a Tamworth and beyond perspective

Tamworth has followed Parkes in using music to power its tourism reinvention. The Tamworth Country Music Festival each January is attended by more than 400000 people and brings more than 100 million dollars to the local economy. Its model, community engagement, artist recognition and accessibility to all, is one that echoes Parkes and underlines the blueprint for a successful regional event.

In the meantime, Bathurst is picking up speed at a different speed. Australia’s most revered touring car race, the Bathurst 1000, typically attracts more than 200,000 fans over race week and books up the town’s hotels, campgrounds and Airbnb listings months in advance.

And way out west, the mining town of Broken Hill, which is really on the edge in more ways than one with its arid, isolated desert existence, has played host to the Broken Heel Festival, in which all things drag, diversity and disco are celebrated. Its one-of-a-kind culture mashup draws thousands of pilgrims to a remote outback location, giving rise to new business, media coverage, and economic life rafts for the likes of local creatives and retailers.

Regional Events, Global Eyes

What gives these festivals their power, is their specificity. It is not spinning experiences out of whole cloth, but local pride, creative expression, and a sense of the local that creates this. Tourism promotion arms of government have now realized that tourists want meaning and uniqueness and not just convenience. These events provide that.

Indeed, cultural and regional tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors, according to the Australian Trade and Investment Commission. Increasingly, international tourists want to get off the beaten track and immersive experiences such as those in Parkes and Tamworth offer just that.

And these festivals offer employment, especially for young people and those with seasonal jobs. The economic ripple effect — stretching from event coordinators and sound engineers to food vendors and craft artisans — is broad and inclusive. This supports the national agenda to leverage tourism for regional development, employment growth and economic endurance.

Challenges and the Path Forward

Local-win events face logistical challenges, despite all their success. Infrastructure needs to be ramped up, safety assured and transportation coordinated. By comparison, these towns depend on local councils, volunteers and public-private cooperation just to keep things ticking over. The department also invests in infrastructure and grant funding to help to support these requirements.

Climate variability also impacts planning. It’s been stinking hot at some festivals at Parkes, and heat safety has had to be addressed, including taking sufficient precautions for covered areas and water stations.

But the upside remains massive. With better transportation and digital promotion, and with investment such as that seen in these festivals, such events could be turned into international magnets for travel — just as Oktoberfest is for Munich and Mardi Gras is for New Orleans.

Final Reflection When a Town Turns Into a Theater

There is something magical about watching a small town come to life at night. When families in Parkes open their houses as a B&B, when shopfronts change to look like retro diners, when locals dress like Elvis and toddlers wave flags in parades — it is more than a festival. It becomes a common story, that visitor and resident will tell ever after.

And as Parkes expands its festival into a world-renowned event and other towns, like Tamworth, Bathurst and Broken Hill, follow suit, one thing becomes clear: the heart of rural Australia pulses through its festivals.

At a time when the world often feels too digital, too fast, too crowded and too where-the-heck-is-that, these towns serve as a reminder that sometimes, the best journeys lead you to places that still feel like home — especially when you arrive in blue suede shoes.