During FOOD Week, 6829 people came through the doors, or an average of 680 people a day, up from 4792 people at the same time last year.

The Museum attracted 3679 people, more than double the 1580 people in 2017. 

Staff member Cath Hines said people were often travelling through on their way to Dubbo, but were making plans to come back.

“I think the place is getting a wonderful name,” she said. 

“We get huge numbers of inquiries on where to find the best autumn colours, they want to know when the cherries will be ripe, they’re asking when it will snow – we do our best to handle every inquiry with a smile.”

She said the Paddock to Plate exhibition opening’s timing with FOOD Week also brought more people through the doors.

Orange City Council economic development committee chair and councillor Jeff Whitton said developing the venue as a focus for FOOD Week was a contributing factor. 

“As well as the new exhibition at the museum, it was the venue for FOOD HQ this year, and it was great to see steady crowds at the producer talks and demonstrations that were on through the festival,” he said. 

“As much as people are doing their research and finding out about Orange online, these figures show that during a major festival, there’s a still an important place for a face-to-face conversation.

“People really respond to chatting with a friendly staff member who’s enthusiastic about their town.”

Tourism manager Glenn Mickle said autumn was the most popular season and had helped momentum into the school holidays. 

He hoped the growth would continue.

“There are always many more families travelling on the road at this time of year and they call in to see what the kids can do during their stay,” he said. 

“It was about a year ago now that Better Homes & Gardens paid a visit to Orange, and it’s hard to over estimate how much a high-profile program like that has added to Orange’s profile.

“I’m guessing people watched the show and then made a note on their diaries to visit Orange for autumn.”