SYDNEY HITS SOCIAL MEDIA MILESTONE

Sydney Opera House

Sydney has hit a major social media milestone with the city's Facebook and Google+ pages both reaching two million followers. This makes Sydney the first Australian city to reach two million Facebook fans, and the first to reach this mark for both Facebook and Google+. The pages showcase tips for visitors on where to stay, what to see and things to do in Sydney. They also feature information on upcoming events, and stunning photography and videos of our landmarks and natural scenery.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said, “The Sydney Facebook page reaches over 12 million people per month, while the Sydney Community on Google+ has been recognised by Google as one of the largest destination-specific communities in the world.

“More than 81 million international and domestic overnight and day trip tourists visited NSW in the year ending September 2014, and the industry is worth more than $27 billion to the state’s economy. It is vital we continue to promote Sydney as the gateway to Australia and regional NSW to grow the NSW visitor economy as we work towards our target of doubling overnight visitor expenditure by 2020,” he said.

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Sandra Chipchase said: “Destination NSW has achieved the leadership position with more than 7 million fans and followers across our Sydney and VisitNSW social channels.

"The pages give travellers the chance to discover information about Sydney and NSW, as well as share their experiences in our State and interact with both locals and visitors. Destination NSW is focussed on building these networks to ensure our State continues to lead the way in online tourism promotion.”

For more information visit the Sydney Facebook page at www.facebook.com/seesydney and the Sydney Community on Google+ at https://plus.google.com/+Sydney