NSW leads Australia's post-pandemic visitor economy rebound

The NSW Government has advised NSW to be leading Australia's post-pandemic visitor economy rebound, surpassing $50 billion in visitor expenditure for the first time in history in the year ending December 2023.

This record-breaking contribution from both domestic and international visitors positions NSW as a leader in Australia's post-pandemic visitor economy rebound.

Despite the devastating impacts of COVID-19, visitor expenditure had a compound annual growth rate of 6.4% over the last ten years.

The NSW Government has ambitious plans to drive that economic growth to even greater heights. To unlock the state’s full potential, the Visitor Economy Strategy 2030 is being reviewed and evolving to showcase the best of NSW to the world by focussing on the diverse experiences on offer for visitors.

The Government’s new tourism strategy seeks to improve cultural experiences for tourists while also expanding visitation to western Sydney and Regional NSW. The impending opening of Western Sydney International and Newcastle International Airports represents further potential for growth in the sector. The review of the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2030 presents a pivotal opportunity to shape the future of the visitor economy in NSW.

The strategy review will seek to formalise the NSW Government’s focus on experience tourism and ensure that the state’s approach to tourism, the NSW Government’s Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Policy (Creative Communities), the night-time economy agenda and the regulatory environments that underpin them, are in lockstep.

Destination NSW is inviting visitor economy stakeholders from across the state to contribute their insights and expertise.

Individuals and organisations are invited to join the conversation and share their perspectives by submitting written submissions online via Have Your Say which will be available in late April. 

The NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2030 was launched in 2021 and included a commitment to review it after three years.