Destination NSW flags Sydney's major events at ATE

While hosting the Australian Tourism Exchange this week, Destination NSW is highlighting Sydney’s track record in attracting major world-class events, with the city’s 2017 event schedule including Vivid Sydney, the world’s largest festival of light, music and ideas, just over a week away.

Destination NSW Chief Executive Sandra Chipchase commented “with our unique destination appeal and ‘only in Sydney’ events, there is no denying that Sydney is strongly positioned to welcome visitors from across Australia and the globe.

“In the year ended December 2016, Sydney welcomed more than 33 million visitors who spent an incredible $17.3 billion. These visitors not only experienced our great events but also our city’s beautiful beaches, parks, food and wine, galleries and museums, shopping and other fantastic attractions.

“In the cooler months, our city transforms into an exciting cultural and sporting hub. Upcoming highlights include the English Premier League football giants Arsenal FC playing two Sydney- exclusive matches against Sydney FC and the Western Sydney Wanderers, the Australian premiere of Beautiful - the Carole King Musical, the 2017 NRL Grand Final, and of course Vivid Sydney from 26th May to 17th June.”

Chipchase sees that ensuring the right infrastructure is in place is a significant part in attracting major events and growing the tourism economy.

She added “Sydney has entered a new era of event capability with the opening of ICC Sydney, which has cemented the city’s reputation as the one of the world’s most desirable event destinations, as shown at this year’s Australian Tourism Exchange.

“Other major infrastructure and transport projects include rebuilding the city’s major stadia network, the new Sydney Metro, CBD & South East Light Rail, Barangaroo Ferry Wharf and Western Sydney Airport.

“These significant developments are ensuring Sydney continues to be celebrated as a strong, sustainable and liveable global city for residents and visitors alike. As we continue to drive more visitors to our State, we look forward to seeing the growth of the NSW visitor economy as we build towards our goal of doubling overnight visitation by 2020.”

ATE brings together Australian tourism businesses, tourism wholesalers and retailers from around the world through a combination of scheduled business appointments and networking events.

It is being held at ICC Sydney from 14th to 18th May 2017.

For further information on events, attractions and experiences in Sydney and regional NSW, go to www.visitnsw.com and www.sydney.com

Images: The Australian Open of Surfing (top) and Vivid Sydney (below).

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