NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2035

Following a comprehensive review and consultation with more than 500 NSW stakeholders, the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2035 will guide cross-government and industry collaboration over the next decade.

The strategy focuses on 5 key pillars to accelerate growth:

Make it easy for more people to visit – grow aviation capacity by 8.5 million seats, unlocking 40,000+ new accommodation rooms and expanding the tourism workforce.

Focus on attracting visitors – elevate the NSW and Sydney brands through bold storytelling and data-led marketing, showcasing Sydney as a destination beyond well-known postcards.

Drive growth through events – lock in a nation-leading calendar of major sport, culture and business events to draw visitors year-round.

Focus on experiences – deliver immersive, high-quality and culturally rich visitor offerings across metro and regional NSW that highlight our stunning landscapes and world-leading produce.

Leverage data and insights – improve access to real-time data and consumer insights to enable agile decision-making across the sector.

The strategy includes a new staged growth path, with targets of $59 billion by 2026 and $71 billion by 2030.

As part of the strategy announcement, the NSW Government has committed to the development of a Statewide Aviation Strategy, expanding our calendar of major events and will investigate a new pathway to unlock major tourism investment in our state.

The NSW Government is acting on these key pillars to help drive immediate momentum across the state’s visitor economy. Early initiatives include:

• launching the $12.5 million NSW Take Off Fund and the $16 million Western Sydney International Take-Off Fund to secure more flights and grow the visitor economy across the state, as new international airports open in Western Sydney and Newcastle
• partnering with CommBank iQ to leverage consumer data to gain deeper insights into visitor behaviours and trends
• launching the ‘Feel New in Sydney’ marketing campaign, inviting Australians to rediscover Greater Sydney through fresh eyes
• introducing extended trading hours and increasing the cap on concerts and major events to support the 24-hour economy.

The NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, will lead the delivery of the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2035.