NSW upgrades target

THE NSW Government has upgraded its target for the visitor economy, setting an ambitious goal to triple the 2009 overnight visitor spending to $55b by 2030 under a new Visitor Economy Industry Plan.

Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said the NSW Government would work with industry to aggressively pursue the new target.

“Marketing Sydney as the gateway to Australia is key to growing the visitor economy in NSW,” Marshall said.

“International visitor markets like China and India represent significant growth opportunities for Sydney and rural and regional NSW, which is why we’re working on campaigns and strategies to fly more tourists to the State.”

The move follows an independent review of the NSW Government’s 2012 Visitor Economy Industry Action Plan, which was targetted at visitor expenditure of $36.6b by 2020.

“Since 2011 the NSW Government has turned around performance in the visitor economy - we’ve overseen growth of 36% in overnight visitors and 54% in visitor expenditure,” Marshall said.

The Visitor Economy Industry Action Plan 2030 identifies six key focus areas, including a new team NSW Taskforce comprising industry leaders and an industry training rep and a formal agreement between the Minister for Tourism and Major Events and the Destination NSW Board.

Key areas include putting the visitor first, supporting, bolstering and encouraging the visitor economy, investing in infrastructure, backing regional NSW, and making opportunities to support growth.

Actions outlined include providing inclusive and accessible tourism, addressing low quality tours and operators, investing in the new Western Sydney Airport and aerotropolis and a focus on new regional flights.

For more information, head to www.industry.nsw.gov.au/veiap.