Insights - 7 June 2024 No images? Click here BUMPER LONG WEEKEND FOR VISITOR ECONOMYFestivals, sporting events and destinations are lighting up the NSW visitor economy over the King's Birthday long weekend. Among the highlights are Vivid Sydney, Sydney Film Festival, the Smoke in Broke Barbecue Festival, Narrandera International Food Fair, Glenworth Grazing Festival and more. In sport, the AFL's Sydney Swans will take on the Geelong Cats at Sydney Cricket Ground (9 June), while Giants Netball will play the Queensland Firebirds at Ken Rosewall Arena (9 June) and in NRL the Penrith Panthers will play the Manly Sea Eagles at BlueBet Stadium (9 June) and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs will go up against the Parramatta Eels at Accor Stadium (10 June). The NSW ski season officially commences this weekend, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting light snowfall on Sunday. Opening weekend activities will include live entertainment, a new Alpine Coaster ride and fireworks in Thredbo village, while Perisher will host the PEAK Music Festival. Destination NSW has also produced a guide to 10 of the best winter stays in NSW, which is featured on the Visit NSW website. Learn more here Vivid Sydney 2024 will deliver a blockbuster line-up of events across its Light, Music, Ideas and Food pillars from 8-10 June. Highlights include CommBank Matildas’ Mackenzie Arnold and head coach Tony Gustavsson taking part in a Vivid Ideas conversation at Sydney Town Hall on 10 June. Tickets are available here. Machine Hall, a reimagined 100-year-old substation, will be the destination for a diverse program of music events. The Grand Silky Ball will be held on 8 June, while Sydney record labels Trackwork and SUMAC will host +WINDCHILL on 9 June. Learn more here. Darling Harbour's Tumbalong Park will feature free and contemporary music every night, including concerts by Club Broadway and The Carpenters from Kempsey, which have been rescheduled from 1 June to 10 June. Learn more here. Vivid Fire Kitchen will fire up each night with free cooking demonstrations by Los Angeles-based My Father’s Barbeque pitmaster Shalamar Lane and fire-cooked dishes from around the globe. Learn more here. The Vivid Sydney 2024 drone show - Love Is In The Air - will take to the skies on 8, 9 and 15 June, with more than 700 drones forming universal symbols of love in the night sky. Transport for NSW has encouraged attendees to leave their cars at home and take public transport to avoid any traffic delays and get the best out of their Vivid Sydney experience. All Vivid Sydney precincts are within a short walking distance of major transport hubs and will have extra services running to help get people to and from the city. Learn more here. The Vivid Sydney website, vividsydney.com, includes transport details, information on road closures and program highlights and updates. Vivid Sydney Facebook, X and Instagram channels also include the latest updates. Vivid Sydney is celebrating its 14th year and Destination NSW is proud that the artist who created one of the festival’s first posters is the creative mastermind behind a major Vivid Light projection for 2024. Reg Mombassa has been a member of the Vivid Sydney extended family since its inception. This year his 'Gumscape with Road and Creatures' installation sees retro-futuristic robots, one-eyed koalas and other creatures take over Customs House. The first Vivid Sydney launched in 2009 and was created to attract visitors to the city during the winter months. It has grown to become Australia’s largest event and the Southern Hemisphere’s leading multi-artform festival. BRINGING VIVID SYDNEY TO LIFEProudly owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW, Vivid Sydney 2024 is transforming Sydney with a showcase of creativity and innovation over 23 nights from 24 May to 16 June. Bringing Australia’s largest event to life wouldn't be possible without teamwork. Our technical and operational teams, events, content, contracting, procurement, marketing, publicity and stakeholder engagement staff work alongside Vivid Sydney producers and curators year-round to ensure the festival brings joy to millions of attendees. Around 11 months of planning goes into creating the artwork projected onto the Sydney Opera House sails alone, while it takes six weeks for all the lights to be installed across the city, including three weeks of work to light up the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Destination NSW also couldn’t bring Australia's largest event to life without the Vivid Sydney Volunteer Program, in collaboration with Casual Hands, which welcomes hundreds of volunteers each year who contribute more than 18,000 hours of customer service. Minister for Tourism John Graham said: "One of the secrets of Vivid Sydney's success is the volunteers behind the scenes. I want to thank them on behalf of the NSW Government for the work they're doing. It's why this is such a smooth experience for families, visitors and everyone coming into the city." LOCAL DISTRICTS GET BACKING TO SHINE BRIGHTERAn ale trail of craft breweries in Sydney's inner west, public art installations in St Marys and public space improvements in Yamba CBD are among 10 business and community-led projects set to improve vibrancy in local districts as part of the Community Improvement District Pilot Program. Administered by Transport for NSW, the program is part of the NSW Government’s vibrancy agenda that is backing businesses to make the most of their public spaces and local character to draw more visitors and more life to their district – day or night. The successful applicants will receive up to $400,000 each, including two in Western Sydney and three regional centres - Yamba, Muswellbrook and Murwillumbah. Learn more here. NSW LIVE MUSIC REPORT RELEASEDThe NSW Government's first State of the Scene report has found live music provides 25,000 jobs and contributes an economic output of $5.5 billion to the NSW economy. The report acted as the first-ever census of live music in NSW, using feedback from 750 industry participants and 550 members of the public who attend live music gigs. With 55 dedicated live music venues, 453 regular and ongoing venues, 56 large-scale multipurpose venues and 231 venues that offer live music as an ancillary function, the report confirms there are now 795 live venue areas across NSW. More than $45.4 million in funding for artists and live venues has been allocated in the 2024-25 NSW Budget. FREE WORKSHOPS TO GROW YOUR BUSINESSDestination NSW’s Choose Tourism NSW Program is inviting visitor economy operators to a series of free workshops to learn the latest techniques for attracting and retaining quality staff. The first workshop was held in Queanbeyan earlier this month, watch what attendees had to say here. Upcoming sessions will be held in Orange, Newcastle, Byron Bay and Wollongong. CHOOSE TOURISM NSW SCHOOLS PROGRAMDestination NSW is delivering 10 workshops across NSW as part of the Choose Tourism 'Tourism & Hospitality Experience Schools Days' program. The workshops are designed to inspire high school students to consider pursuing a career in the visitor economy. Students on the Central Coast recently attended a workshop in Glenworth Valley, view highlights here. CRUISE-READY WORKSHOP FOR SYDNEYDestination NSW is partnering with cruise industry experts to help businesses make the most of cruise opportunities in destinations across the state. Participants will gain insights into creating and selling great shore experiences to cruise ship passengers as part of broader product development and sales strategies. The next cruise workshops will be held in Newcastle (12 June) and Sydney (3 July). JOIN AN EXPERIENCE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPDestination NSW is presenting a series of Experience Development workshops during 2024. Delivered under the NSW First Program, these free, full-day workshops are designed to assist businesses including tour, attraction and accommodation providers to create and refine visitor experiences. The next workshops will be held in the Southern Highlands (18 June) and Hilltops (20 June). 71ST SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL OPENSThe 71st Sydney Film Festival opened this week with the world premiere of Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line. Supported proudly by Destination NSW, it is one of the world’s longest-running film festivals. This year's program features more than 200 films, events and in-depth discussions from 5-16 June. The festival's flagship venue is the State Theatre, while cinemas in Sydney CBD, Newtown, Cremorne and Randwick are also participating. NSW CELEBRATES FESTIVAL OF FOOTYDestination NSW turned the Sydney Harbour Bridge blue this week ahead of the Men’s State of Origin at Accor Stadium in Sydney and the Women’s State of Origin at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle. The festival of football included the CommBank Matildas' win against China PR at Accor Stadium on Monday. Destination NSW was proud to partner with Football Australia and the National Rugby League to secure the matches. SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL ART SERIES 2024-25The line-up for Sydney International Art Series 2024-25 has been revealed. Supported proudly by Destination NSW, the Art Gallery of NSW will host Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte, alongside pioneering Chinese contemporary artist Cao Fei for what will be the first retrospective ever held in Australia for both artists, while the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia will exhibit the works of Ethiopian-born New York artist Julie Mehretu for her first major exhibition in the Southern Hemisphere. HADESTOWN IS COMING TO SYDNEYSinger-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell’s acclaimed West End and Broadway musical Hadestown will make its Australian premiere at Sydney’s Theatre Royal from February 2025. Following two intertwining love stories - that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice and King Hades and his wife Persephone - Hadestown takes audiences on a journey to the underworld and back. Presented by Opera Australia and JONES Theatrical Group, the production is supported proudly by Destination NSW. SYDNEY SURROUNDS SOUTH SYMPOSIUMDestination Sydney Surrounds South hosted a Visitor Economy Symposium this week at Park Proxi Gibraltar Bowral. Destination NSW CEO Steve Cox gave an opening address that explored opportunities for visitor economy growth and the extensive stakeholder support provided by Destination NSW. Destination NSW also gave updates on maximising Australian Tourism Data Warehouse, growth in the driving holiday sector, grants available for electric vehicle charging stations, plus insights on how leveraging business events can grow off-peak visitation. GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR LIVERPOOLWestern Sydney visitor economy growth opportunities were highlighted at a recent Destination Liverpool event. Hosted by South West Sydney Tourism Taskforce, the event brought together stakeholders from across the region including Destination NSW, the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner and Western Sydney Airport. Liverpool is home to the new Western Sydney Airport, which is set to open in late 2026. A panel discussion highlighted the importance of collaboration between all levels of government and industry as well as ways to showcase the region's strengths. DOMESTIC AVIATION REBOUNDSNew data from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) shows there were 5.32 million passengers carried on Australian domestic commercial aviation (including charter operations) in March 2024, an increase of 2.8 per cent on March 2023. Capacity, measured by available seat kilometres, increased to 7.23 billion in March 2024 (up 5.1 per cent year on year). Regional airports saw a two per cent rise in domestic passenger movements compared to March 2023, increasing to 2.05 million. INVESTING IN WESTERN SYDNEY ROADSFunding has been allocated in the 2024-25 NSW Budget for roads to connect people and communities with the new International Airport and Bradfield City Centre. The NSW Government will contribute $400 million to upgrade Elizabeth Drive into a four-lane divided road, which will take travellers direct to the new airport and connect major arteries of Mamre and Northern Roads. An additional $500 million will allow the next stage of construction to begin on Mamre Road between Erskine Park and Kemps Creek. MTB SYMPOSIUM FOR MERIMBULAOutdoors NSW & ACT is facilitating the 2024 MTB Symposium, which will be held in Merimbula on 25-26 October. Supported proudly by Destination NSW, the symposium will bring together professionals, enthusiasts and stakeholders from the mountain biking community. It is expected to draw more than 200 delegates, deliver around 500 visitor room nights and an estimated $200,000 in visitor expenditure to the region’s visitor economy and further elevate its reputation as a world-class mountain biking destination. VIETJET LAUNCHES HANOI-SYDNEY ROUTEThe inaugural Vietjet flight from Hanoi to Sydney landed this week at Sydney Airport. The service will operate twice weekly, with Vietjet now offering a total of 58 flights per week to Australia. Vietjet Vice President Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh said the airline had introduced the routes to meet increasing demand. There are more than 350,000 Australians with Vietnamese heritage, making Vietnam an important market for the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) segment. More than 123,000 Vietnamese citizens travelled to Australia in 2019. NEW CHAIRMAN FOR CLIA AUSTRALASIACruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has announced the election of Carnival Senior Vice President and Country Manager Peter Little as its new Chairman in Australasia. Mr Little takes over from Norwegian Cruise Line APAC Vice President and Managing Director Ben Angell, who has concluded his two-year term. CARNIVAL SUNSETS P&O CRUISES AUSTRALIACarnival Corporation has announced that the company will retire the P&O Cruises Australia brand in March 2025 and fold the Australia operations into Carnival Cruise Line. The Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure ships will be rebranded and operated by Carnival Cruise Line brand. Pacific Explorer will exit the fleet in February 2025. HOT TRAVEL TREND: BIOPHILIABiophilia - the concept that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature - is becoming an increasingly powerful force in tourism. A new report from the World Economic Forum has highlighted that nature tourism – a cornerstone of biophilia – generates more than $600 billion in revenue globally. Tripadvisor page views have also become concentrated on a country’s most popular natural and cultural attractions since 2021, the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024 (TDDI) shows. BANKSIA SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS OPENThe Banksia Foundation is calling for entries in the 2024 NSW Sustainability Awards, held in collaboration with the NSW Government. Visitor economy businesses are encouraged to enter the Sustainable Tourism Award category, which recognises organisations, destinations and businesses that prioritise conservation minimising their ecological footprint. An information session is being held on 13 June 2024, register here. Pictured: 2023 NSW Sustainability Award for Sustainable Tourism winner Take 3 for the Sea. VISITOR ECONOMY WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTSNEW FIRST NATIONS ARTS AND WRITING BODIES: The Australian Government has introduced new legislation to establish First Nations Arts and Writing Australia. The two new bodies will deliver support and investment for First Nations artists and Australian writers, illustrators and publishers. Learn more NSW LEADS AUSTRALIA IN FIRST NATIONS EXPENDITURE REPORTING: NSW is the only state or territory to regularly report on First Nations expenditure, with the release of the 2023-24 NSW Indigenous Expenditure Report. Read report here. ADVANCE AUSTRALIA APPLICATIONS OPEN: Applications have opened for Business Events Australia’s Advance Program FY2024/25. The Advance Program is Tourism Australia’s international business events partnership marketing initiative. Learn more LEADERSHIP CHANGES AT REX: Executive Chairman Lim Kim Hai has stepped down, while COO Neville Howell has been named as the airline’s new CEO. Learn more FREE CITYSWITCH PROGRAM SESSION: The CitySwitch program is running a free face-to-face session about carbon accounting platforms on 12 June 2024. Register here PARRAMATTA LIGHT RAIL STAGE 2 CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: Initial work will begin later this year on the project, which will link Parramatta CBD to Sydney Olympic Park. Learn more FOLLOW DESTINATION NSW ON LINKEDIN: Stay up to date with all the latest Destination NSW initiatives by following us on LinkedIn. Click here DID YOU ENJOY THIS NEWSLETTER? Forward it to colleagues and friends so they can subscribe too. Was this issue forwarded to you? Click here to sign up |