NSW GOVERNMENT BACKS THE RECOVERY OF THE STATE’S VISITOR ECONOMY

The NSW Government has strengthened its commitment to the State’s visitor economy, investing $200 million in the 2020-21 NSW Budget to drive visitation and visitor spending in NSW to pre-COVID levels by 2024.

The NSW Budget was handed down today by Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, unveiling a raft of stimulus and infrastructure-related measures to kickstart the recovery of the state’s economy.

In particular, the state’s visitor economy will be boosted through initiatives including support for small to medium businesses such as tax reform and skills training; funding for regional NSW communities and National Parks through infrastructure, maintenance and jobs programs; and the growth of precincts and associated industries.

Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the $200m investment in tourism would increase the reach and impact of domestic marketing campaigns, allow the state to secure major and strategic events, and support industry development programs.

“The visitor economy is the lifeblood of much of NSW, from our stunning Harbour City which is usually the country’s international gateway to the diverse regional communities that rely on visitors to keep local businesses operating,” Minister Ayres said.

“As NSW bounces back from this global pandemic, the visitor economy will be a shining light for the State by creating and securing jobs, and generating visitor spend as demand and visitation increases.

“We have strong interest from intrastate and interstate visitors looking for an escape after a tough year – NSW offers diverse destinations and experiences, and our tourism businesses are COVID Safe and ready to go.

“The NSW Government will work hand-in-hand with industry to help businesses navigate this new environment as we push to get travel, events, dining out, retail and visiting attractions back to pre-COVID levels.”

• Key activities strengthening the NSW visitor economy in 2020-21 include:
• Destination NSW will promote the State’s destinations and experiences through campaigns including Love NSW for local travellers, the Sydney-focused Love It Like You Mean It targeting Sydneysiders, and The Great Escape for interstate markets
• Growth of the Sydney and NSW events calendar through securing major events to drive visitation and boost local economies including Disney’s Frozen, Pippin, Hamilton, The Rugby Championships and the Sydney SuperFight
• Delivery of Australian-first COVID-safe events including the new live music initiative Great Southern Nights (1,000 COVID-Safe gigs across NSW in November) and Vivid Sydney 2021
• Securing partnership campaigns with travel trade partners and airlines to develop opportunities to package and promote NSW short breaks, major events, destinations and experiences
• Delivering industry development programs to assist tourism businesses to develop, promote and sell their tourism products
• Delivering programs to attract more visitors, events and conferences and spread visitor economy benefits to more regional NSW communities
• Maintaining awareness of NSW as a visitor destination in international markets so Sydney and NSW are top of mind when border restrictions ease.

The Budget will help support Destination NSW’s work to return the visitor economy to pre-COVID levels by 2024 and its vision to position NSW as the premier visitor economy in the Asia-Pacific.

Website: www.theholidayandtravelmagazine.blogspot.com.au

Destination NSW
https://www.destinationnsw.com.au/