Warrumbungle National Park nr Coonabarabran

Coonabarabran region on the pull for birdwatchers

Moves are afoot to promote birdwatching in the Coonabarabran region to international tourists, after a successful tour of the district by American tourist operators.

Tourism New South Wales is hosting the delegation as part of a national trip to explore potential new markets.

The Coonabarabran Visitor's Centre's Aileen Bell says the operators were "blown away" with bird watching experiences in the Warrumbungle and Pilliga national parks.

She says the region could be promoted as the "premier birding site" in Australia and soon tap into the $12 billion-a-year American birdwatching phenomenon.

"One of the operators that was here was a fellow from Alaska and he's looking at alternatives for his client base - because he has such a short season there," she said.

"These people are talking very positively about bringing people into this part of the country to do some birding."

Ms Bell says the natural geology, flora, wild and bird life creates a perfect environment for birds.

"Sometimes we think we have an immature tourism product out here and we can't compete with the big players, but I think when you look at nature-based tourism, where else would you come?" she said.

"These people were just blown away that we had all of those things."

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