40% of Australians plan a holiday in NSW

When asked to nominate the Australian states they’d like to visit on holiday within the next two years, 40.7% of the population name NSW as a potential destination.

Although a slightly lower proportion than the same time last year, when 41.9% named NSW among their preferred states for a holiday, the newly released findings from Roy Morgan Research are encouraging for regional NSW.

With the decline in interest based upon fewer people being interested in visiting Sydney, Roy Morgan Research suggest that the interest in regional destinations bodes well for Destination NSW’s recent announcement to promote tourism to regional destinations through six major regional ‘Destination Networks’: Riverina Murray, Southern NSW (including Snowy Mountains and Far South Coast), North Coast (from Mid-Coast to Tweed Heads), Country and Outback, Sydney Surrounds – North (including Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Hunter Valley), and Sydney Surrounds – South (including Southern Highlands, Wollongong and Shoalhaven).

Of these six regions, preference for the Murray Riverina, Southern NSW, North Coast, Sydney Surrounds – North and Sydney Surrounds – South as potential holiday destinations has seen a moderate year-on-year growth, while interest in the Country and Outback region is stable.

NSW destination preference: regional and Sydney, 2015 vs 2016

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), April 2014 to March 2015 (n=15,913) and April 2015 to March 2016 (n=15,074). Base: Australians 14+

Suggesting that the major goal of any regional tourism initiative is to boost local economies by attracting visitors with healthy spending power, Roy Morgan Research identify that Southern NSW tops the list for high-yield tourists, with 31.7% of Australian holiday-goers who’d like to visit the region spending at least $200 per person per night on their last trip.

Tourists interested in the NSW North Coast are also a high-value group (27.9% of them spent $200+ per night on their last holiday); just ahead of those with a preference for Sydney Surrounds - North (27.2%).

The Murray Riverina (23.3%) is the least likely of the new Destination Networks to be on the radar of big-spending holiday-goers.

Commenting on the findings, Angela Smith, Group Account Director, Roy Morgan Research, stated “(the) new Destination Networks have been developed to grow the state’s regional tourism sector, attracting more visitors and thereby increasing economic activity throughout NSW.

“And the future looks bright, (our) data shows that more Australians are keen to visit most of these regions than they were this time last year.

“Of course, big-spending visitors are particularly valuable for regional economies, and as described above, the data from Roy Morgan’s Holiday Tracking Study shows that some Destination Networks are especially likely to appeal to this kind of traveller.

“Furthermore, our data makes it possible for tourism operators and destination marketers to pinpoint even more precisely the chances of their region attracting these high-yield visitors and also whether these visitors are more likely to be from intra- or interstate.

“For example, 35.2% of NSW residents who’d like to visit Southern NSW in the near future spent $200+ per person per night on their last holiday compared with 25.5% of holiday-goers from elsewhere in Australia with a preference for the region. This would suggest that industry players in Southern NSW would be wise to develop intrastate-specific marketing campaigns for maximum return."

Main image: Kayaking at Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast, courtesy of Jervis Bay Tourism.

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