Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter and Central Coast Scot MacDonald announced on Thursday that the state government would throw its support behind the Lake Macquarie round of the national series.

Mr MacDonald said the event, to be staged at Marmong Point on October 15 and 16, would put the region on show and provide a great boost to the local visitor economy. 

“I am delighted to announce that Destination NSW is supporting the Lake Macquarie round of this year’s Offshore Superboat Championships set to take place in October,” Mr MacDonald said.

“Our continued support for regional events provides a strong opportunity to promote the many wonderful NSW destinations such as Lake Macquarie, and I encourage everyone to begin planning a trip to the region for the opportunity to watch teams go head-to-head in fast and furious racing action.”

Lake Macquarie will also be featured when the championships is screened to a national and international broadcast audience through SBS and Fox Sports in Australia, Sommet Sports in New Zealand, MAV TV in North America and via the Motorsports TV app.

The state government want to double the state’s overnight visitor expenditure by 2020 and Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said events play an important role in achieving this goal.

“In the year ended March 2016, NSW received 28.6 million domestic visitors who stayed 92.1 million nights and spent $16.4 billion,” Mr Ayres said.

“These numbers not only reflect the extraordinary ongoing growth achieved by the NSW Government, but the importance of investing in regional events which are a major contributor the state’s overnight visitor economy.”

There will also be a range of additional community events held around the lake that weekend.

The national series begins in Bowen, in North Queensland, this weekend and Lake Macquarie is one of just two rounds of the national series being staged in NSW.

For more information about the event and the series visit superboat.com.au.