Surfest has announced a new partnership with Reflections Holiday Parks, the largest holiday park group in NSW, uniting around a shared commitment to regional tourism and a love of the great outdoors.
Surfest 2023 will run from February 11 to March 26 at Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie with the WSL recognised Men’s and Women’s Pro events at Merewether Beach.
The sponsorship sees Reflections hold the official presenting rights across the four-week surfing festival and support for the iconic event, enabling it to continue its standard of event delivery for the community in 2023.
NSW Minister for Tourism, Ben Franklin MLC said the partnership brings together two organisations which, combined, welcome more than 2 million visitors to regional NSW each year.
“Surfest reaches 3.9 million people across 10 countries, attracts 26,000 visitors and injects $4.2 million into the Hunter’s economy, while Reflections generates $83.2M in economic value for regional NSW each year, so this partnership will deliver significant impact for NSW tourism,” Ben said.
Minister for Lands and Water, Kevin Anderson said Reflections operates 27 coastal holiday parks on Crown land from Eden to Brunswick Heads providing a gateway for many thousands of surf enthusiasts.
“The partnership is exciting for both organisations and opens a huge amount of opportunity to share surfing experiences and promote regional tourism across the 27 Reflections Parks located in coastal areas of NSW,” Kevin said.
General Manager of Marketing and Sales at Reflections Holiday Parks, Peter Chapman said there is great value in aligning to such an iconic community event.
“Reflections Holiday Parks exists to connect people with nature, while growing tourism in regional NSW, so we are delighted to partner with Surfest in its 37th year,” Peter said.
“We are looking forward to spreading the magic of Surfest throughout our beach-side parks, and look forward to partnering with Surfest to get people closer to nature through local surf schools up and down the NSW coast.
“We congratulate Surfest for hosting another world class event in our major heartland, while continuing to nurture local talent and elevate youth, Indigenous and women’s surfing competitions.”
Surfest Director, Warren Smith is thrilled to see the Reflections Holiday Parks return, after being a key partner of the High Schools Classic in 2018.
“To have Reflections Holiday Parks join Surfest as the presenting sponsor for Surfest 2023 shows the confidence they have for Surfest,” Warren said.
“There is a lot of common interest between Reflections Holiday Parks and Surfest. We applaud their commitment to the lands and waters across NSW and are excited to showcase the surfing experience to Reflection Holiday Parks visitors.”
The partnership is exciting for both organisations and opens a huge amount of opportunity to share surfing experiences across the 27 coastal Reflections Parks across New South Wales.
IMAGE | General Manager of Marketing and Sales at Reflections Holiday Parks, Peter Chapman and Surfest Director, Warren Smith (L-R).
