NSW launches plan to become leading visitor economy of Asia-Pacific by 2030

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The New South Wales government will invest in world-class events and infrastructure while fostering its brand under a new plan to become the premier visitor economy of the Asia-Pacific by 2030.

The strategy, launched on Monday, will help the state grow its visitor economy from $43 billion to $65 billion over the next decade through investment and decision-making in the areas of marketing, events, business support, regulations, training and tourism infrastructure, according to tourism minister Stuart Ayres.

“The NSW government is already charging ahead to create new tourism experiences and icons such as the new Sydney Fish Market, new sporting stadiums and cultural institutions and world-class walking tracks in regional NSW,” he said in a statement.

“We will bolster our reputation for staging premier events including the Australian exclusive production of Hamilton, Vivid Sydney, Disney’s Frozen and we are close to securing the full suite of 10 World Cup sporting events for NSW in 10 years.”

The NSW visitor economy accounts for almost 300,000 jobs and 110,000 businesses, and is the largest in Australia, Ayres noted. He said an investment of $200 million a year would “help get the tourism sector back on its feet” following the coronavirus pandemic.

The plan’s targets for 2030 include:

• $65 billion in total visitor expenditure for NSW,
• $10 billion in domestic daytrips,
• $55 billion in overnight visitor expenditure,
• $25 billion in regional overnight visitor expenditure.

State tourism agency Destination NSW developed the strategy in consultation with industry and government stakeholders, and will lead a whole-of-government approach to implementing the plan. It will also establish a Senior Officers Group to coordinate funding and government services relating to the visitor economy.

The plan highlights the importance of leadership from the state government and collaboration with governments and industry to grow the NSW visitor economy.

“Collaboration, coordination and communication across the NSW government, with local councils, the commonwealth government, Tourism Australia, the Destination Networks, the industry and community is crucial for NSW to remain competitive and on top,” the document states.

The strategy will be implemented in three phases — ‘recovery’, ‘momentum’, and ‘accelerate’ — and has five core strategic pillars: road to recovery; build the brand; showcase strengths; invest in world-class events; and facilitate growth.

Accor Pacific CEO Simon McGrath said the plan would bring renewed interest from the private sector into tourism in NSW.

“From an industry point of view the Visitor Economy Strategy is prepared in a very collaborative way, with a focused approach,” he said. “As a result it has delivered an incredibly dynamic and strong platform which gives confidence to investors, operators and the industry as a whole.”