PLANS TO TRANSFORM SYDNEY'S WESTERN HARBOUR

New Sydney Waterfront Company has discussed its plans to transform Sydney’s western harbour precinct following the release of its first turnover report.

Produced by Colliers, the report tracked visitor traffic and spending in the harbourside precinct, which includes Walsh Bay, Barangaroo, King Street Wharf, Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour, Pyrmont Jones Bay, Blackwattle Bay and Rozelle Bay.

Based on current performance data analysis, the precinct attracted 79 million visits over the past 12 months generating a retail turnover of $4.1billion.

New Sydney Waterfront is Australia’s first Business Improvement District (BID) established as a not-for-profit partnership in January 2021 with seed funding from the NSW Government, the City of Sydney and founding business members comprising property owners, institutions, accommodation and leisure operators.

The partnership brings businesses and organisations across the Western Sydney Waterfront together to maximise a projected $12 billion investment into the precinct by 2030.

New Sydney Waterfront Company CEO Jace Tyrrell said the precinct had the potential to inject $6.2 billion a year into the visitor economy.

“Sydney’s western harbour precinct is under-performing as an international tourist destination but curating the offering under $12 billion in programmed investment will increase the current international tourism numbers from 10 per cent of all visitors and have a dramatic impact on returns for the area’s accommodation providers, restaurants, bars and cultural attractions," he said.

“And we need to work with our property owners and our government partners to radically transform co-ordinate and connect the ground floor offerings so that workers stay longer, tourists visit more often and more residents want to meet up locally. We can draw inspiration from overseas success stories like London’s Outernet and the Time Out Market in Lisbon to create really vibrant event and entertainment spaces.”

Based on the latest analysis of MasterCard transactions, tracking mobility and footfall data, the Colliers report findings included:

• Average transaction values grew throughout 22/23 and were up an average of +18% on 2019.
• Six out the area’s 10 precincts exceeded 2019 performance levels during FY22/23.
• Bars, restaurants, hotels and accommodation recorded the best sales performance against the equivalent 2019 months.
• 74 per cent of visitors spend when visiting the precinct, with the average visitor spend around $165.
• 90 per cent of visits are domestic - 55 per cent visitors, 20 per cent residents, 16 per cent workers.
• The typical visitor is full-time worker, aged 39, earning around $118,000 and likely to be in a couple.
• Key drivers of spend were leisure, socialising and eating out, with 95 per cent of visitors spending on eating out, irrespective of the primary reason for visiting.

Learn more here.

New Sydney Waterfront also received $200,000 from the Uptown Grant Program last month to facilitate the growth of the district into a vibrant hub in line with the NSW Government’s 24-Hour Economy Strategy for Greater Sydney.

*Destination NSW