City boasts packed calendar

The City of Busselton says the town has become the regional events capital of Australia.

Events co-ordinator Shane Walsh made the claim after the announcement of a number of new additions for 2014-15.

One of the most highly anticipated events is a round of the Olympic-distance Telstra Triathlon Series to be held at Port Geographe Marina in February next year.

Mr Walsh said they had sought the race to complement the Ironman WA and Ironman 70.3.

"It's more of a power event - short and sharp," he said.

"It's still got three disciplines but it's pretty intense and it gets participants from ages seven up to 70 so it brings a wider demographic."

Mr Walsh said the City was excited to hold the event at Port Geographe because they could condense the swim, cycle and run into a fairly small space.

"It's good for spectators, it's low-impact on the community as a whole and it's not in the same area as usual," he said.

"We want to showcase (Port Geographe) as an event area and have people use it for more than just the Wonnerup boat ramp."

Other new events in 2014-15 include the Geographe Bay Tasar World Championships, Aussie Hash Nash Busselton, Australian Junior Surf Championships, Model A Ford Rally by the Seaside, Australian Boardriders Battle and 150th Year Jetty Celebrations.

Mr Walsh said the City increased events 36 per cent in 2013-14 from 61 to 83, after a 38 per cent increase the previous year.

He said these events generated an estimated $53.8 million in economic impact - a return of $83 for each dollar spent by the City.

"It's exceeded what we've planned," he said.

"We're probably the regional events capital of Australia, not just WA.

"We're doing more events than anyone outside the capital cities."

The City is continuing to target events for the non-peak winter period and in locations outside Busselton CBD.

However, Mr Walsh said they were mindful of holding too many events on the same weekend and burning out local volunteers.