Around 8.5 million more airline seats, 40,000 extra hotel rooms and an experience-led tourism focus will transform the NSW visitor economy into a $91 billion powerhouse by 2035 – a 40 per cent boost to the previous 2030 target of $65 billion – and create 150,000 new jobs in the sector.
The ambitious play was outlined as part of the 2030 Visitor Economy Strategy Review with the new NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2035 revealed in the coming months.
The accelerated growth is expected to provide a big economic windfall for regional communities with $44 billion (48%) expected to be spent in regional NSW.
NSW is currently Australia’s biggest visitor economy, achieving a record $53 billion in expenditure in FY24 and employing almost 300,000 workers.
How the NSW visitor economy will take-off
The 2030 strategy review indicated the next decade of growth will be driven by increased airlift and leveraging new gateways.
These include the Newcastle Airport international terminal opening in 2025, Western Sydney International Airport in 2026, increased capacity at Sydney Airport and growth in arrivals through Canberra and Gold Coast airports.
To achieve the stretch target, NSW will require an additional 40,000 hotel rooms (up 41% on current accommodation availability), more skilled tourism and hospitality workers and extra business event facilities in Sydney, Western Sydney and key regional areas.
Experience tourism leads the way
The 2035 NSW Visitor Economy Strategy will be anchored around experience tourism, renewing the state’s focus on “creating and marketing compelling visitor experiences”.
The review noted: “We must leverage the state’s natural assets, elevate First Nations stories, utilise events as seasonal reasons to visit and brand builders for the state, harness and grow the meaning of Sydney’s brand and deliver exceptional visitor experiences informed by global trends and consumer insights.”
NSW Jobs & Tourism Minister John Graham said: “This is a very exciting moment for the NSW visitor economy. We’re taking a sector that is already very strong and raising our ambitions even higher.”
“To reach this ambitious new target we need to build more hotel rooms, attract and train more workers and create and market the experiences that connect visitors with the culture, nature and people of NSW.
“NSW has the nature, the culture and incredible experiences. We just need to match it with hard work and planning.”
Read the full review here.
