Monday 21 October 2024

Experience-led tourism takes centre stage at the NSW Visitor Economy Forum

The 2024 NSW Visitor Economy Forum was held yesterday (Thursday) at the ICC Sydney, underscoring the importance of rich and immersive visitor experiences in shaping the future growth of the NSW visitor economy.

Hosted by Destination NSW, the event saw a record attendance of more than 600 industry leaders and stakeholders coming from across the state to share insights and hear from visitor economy experts with a program that focused on the theme of ‘Experience NSW’.

Hosted by news presenter for the Seven Network and regional NSW accommodation business owner Edwina Bartholomew, attendees received a Welcome to Country by Aunty Margret Campbell followed by a message from the Minister for Jobs and Tourism John Graham.

Keynote speeches were given by Destination NSW CEO Steve Cox, alongside former Executive Director and Chief Technology Officer of Lonely Planet Gus Balbontin who discussed ‘Adapting to a new world of experiences’, plus a visitor economy trend report by Fiftyfive5's Klara de Wit and Victoria Loutas.

Destination NSW CEO Steve Cox said: “NSW is celebrating another record-breaking year for its visitor economy, with total visitor expenditure reaching a new high of $52.9 billion.

“To keep this momentum going, our state’s diverse range of experiences will be central to driving further visitor economy growth and acceleration.

“One of the key takeaways from the 2024 forum was the importance of collectively celebrating not just the destination itself, but the vibrant and interactive experiences visitors can enjoy while they are here.

“A huge thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s forum. We hope the insights on the data and trends impacting the NSW visitor economy provided a meaningful opportunity to explore how we can work together to sustain success and unlock new opportunities for the future.”

Keynote speaker Gus Balbontin said: “Giving your customers an experience they will never forget is a certain way to drive innovation in your business and stay relevant. The pursuit will inevitably deliver uniqueness, authenticity, surprise and delight.

“Customers’ needs and expectations are continuously shifting - if you invest in your adaptability and embrace novelty your ability to delight the customer with unforgettable experiences increases."

Two feature panel sessions were also held on ‘Building our visitor economy workforce’ and ‘Cutting Through the Clutter: Storytelling in the Digital Age’.

Following the keynote speeches and panel sessions, attendees had the opportunity to select two deep dive sessions, exploring specific growth opportunities for local visitor economies. Topics included:
  • International market insights: North Asia, South East Asia, India and Western
  • Connecting with visitors through culture
  • Leveraging world-class events
  • The high-yield opportunity: business events and corporate travel.

The 2024 Visitor Economy Forum, the third of its kind, was free to attend and open to all visitor economy stakeholders including operators, trade partners, industry representatives and government colleagues.

Destination NSW partnered with EarthCheck and the ICC Sydney to ensure the forum operated sustainably and certified as an EarthCheck Responsible Event.

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