Sydney voted number one city by Travel + Leisure

Sydney’s iconic landmarks, stunning beaches and vibrant food and wine scene have continued to resonate with travellers with the city once again voted the number one city in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific at the 22nd annual Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards.12 July 2017

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Sandra Chipchase welcomed the accolade and said the US represents an important visitor market for NSW.

“Travel + Leisure is one of the world’s most prestigious travel and lifestyle magazines with a print circulation of more than 950,000 in the US alone, and I am delighted that they have recognised Sydney as one of the world’s best cities once again,” Ms Chipchase said.

“In the year ended March 2017, NSW welcomed almost 430,000 overnight visitors from the US who spent $776 million.

“These incredible figures reinforce the extraordinary work of Destination NSW in ensuring we continue to lure visitors from around the world to experience Australia’s premier tourism and events State.

“This Award is also a tribute to our fantastic tourism and events industry, which continues to develop new and exciting experiences to keep this city at the forefront for international visitors.”

Sydney also dominated the City Hotels category in the Australia, New Zealand, and South Pacific region, with QT Sydney, The Langham, Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour and Park Hyatt Sydney ranked as the top four hotels respectively.

“Sky-high confidence in the visitor economy is driving Sydney’s hotel boom with more than 7,000 new rooms approved for development or being constructed now to open for business by 2022,” she said.

“NSW is undergoing a major transformation to meet the growing demands from international markets, providing our hotels and operators with more opportunities than ever before to attract visitors from around the world to our beautiful Harbour City.”

Travel + Leisure is a premier travel and lifestyle magazine in the US and serves as a one-stop resource for sophisticated travellers who crave travel tips, news and information about the most exciting destinations in the world.

For further details on the 2017 Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards, go towww.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest. For information on events, attractions and experiences in Sydney visit www.sydney.com.