No Images? Click here SUPERCARS FINALE UNDERWAY IN NEWCASTLEThe three-day finale of the 2017 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship is underway. Today's practice sessions will be followed by two days of exciting racing around the Newcastle 500 street circuit. The NSW Government in partnership with the Newcastle City Council secured the Newcastle 500 exclusively for Newcastle for five years. NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said local businesses as well as Newcastle’s stunning natural environment is on show to tens of thousands of visitors and racing enthusiasts watching from around the world. “The Newcastle 500 is one of the biggest events on the State’s sporting calendar and a significant event for Newcastle and the broader Hunter region. More than 150,000 people are expected through the gates this weekend, with many of them staying in local hotels, dining in local cafes and restaurants and enjoying the many adventure opportunities and activities that attract millions of visitors to the region every year,” Mr Marshall said. Find out more. Image courtesy of Supercars WORLD-CLASS STADIUMS COMING TO NSWPremier Gladys Berejiklian today announced Allianz and ANZ stadiums will be rebuilt and transformed into world-class facilities, keeping NRL Grand Finals in Sydney for at least the next 25 years. Ms Berejiklian said the investment would ensure NSW remains the number one destination for major sporting and entertainment events. “We want the world’s biggest sporting clubs and artists to choose NSW as their preferred destination to showcase their events,” Ms Berejiklian said. The investment will fund a new 45,000-seat stadium to replace Allianz at Moore Park with construction to start in 2018 and open in 2021; and a new 75,000-seat rectangular stadium to replace ANZ at Sydney Olympic Park, construction to start in 2019 and open in 2022. An artist's impression of the new facilities can be found here. TOURISM FUNDING BOOST FOR BELLINGEN SHIREVisitors to Gleniffer Reserves in Bellingen will soon be able to encounter a new digital tourism experience thanks to a funding boost from the NSW Government. Bellingen Shire Council has secured $50,000 from Destination NSW’s Regional Tourism Fund. The funding will pay for interpretive signage aimed at improving the visitor experience. NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said the Regional Tourism Fund is part of the Government’s strategy to turbocharge tourism across the State. “Driving tourism in rural and regional NSW is a top priority, and we are committing record funding to allow this industry to grow and grow,” Mr Marshall said. Find out more about the Regional Tourism Fund. WORLD'S BEST IN SYDNEY FOR AUSTRALIAN OPENThree-time major champion and world No.2, Jordan Spieth (pictured) is in town and hunting a third Emirates Australian Open title at The Australian Golf Course. NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall officially welcomed Spieth and Australia’s Jason Day to Sydney at the event launch on Tuesday. Spieth, the 2014 and 2016 champion, is the major drawcard at this week’s event which will run until Sunday, 26 November. Day, the 2015 PGA Championship winner, will provide stiff competition in a field that includes eight former champions. The Emirates Australian Open is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, and has been held in Sydney since 2004. It provides a significant boost to the NSW visitor economy, with last year’s event attracting 4,700 overnight visitors to the Harbour City, delivering $3.8 million in visitor spend. Buy tickets here. AFL FEVER HITS THE HARBOUR CITYSydney is set for a bumper three days of AFL action, with the second annual AFL 9s Classic and the AFL Draft taking place this week. The Classic, an exciting national event that brings together players from community football clubs to compete in the AFL’s social format, kicked off today and will run until Sunday, 26 November with more than 120 teams and 1,000 players in action. The Draft, which gives the clubs the opportunity to sign the best young amateurs in the country, will be held tonight at the Sydney Showground. Some of the top Draft prospects were in town ahead of tonight’s event and experienced a number of Sydney’s marquee visitor attractions, including Sydney SKYWALK, Bondi Beach and Luna Park. The Top 10 Draft Picks will come together for a photo opportunity at Hickson Road Reserve, The Rocks, tomorrow at 9am. Both events are supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. Image: 2017 AFL NAB Draft prospects Andrew Brayshaw and Darcy Fogarty GOLDEN GUITAR AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCEDTamworth Regional Council and the Country Music Association of Australia have announced the finalists for the 2018 Golden Guitar Awards. The awards recognise and celebrate recording in country music in more than 50 categories. Finalists include Kasey Chambers, The McClymonts, The Bushwackers, Lee Kernahan and Travis Collins & Amber Lawrence, and the winners will be announced on 27 January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, the Tamworth Country Music Festival features more than 700 country performers, 2,800 events across 120 venues, and includes ticketed and free events. See the full list of Golden Guitar Award nominees. Image: Finalists Travis Collins & Amber Lawrence. Credit: Tamworth Regional Council NSW TO FEATURE IN TRAVEL TV SHOWPopular Malaysian reality TV show, Travel With My Love, will feature two NSW holiday destinations. The show, which is broadcast to around 234,000 viewers, will showcase the South Coast and the Blue Mountains when it airs today in Malaysia and other countries in south-east Asia. Locations on the South Coast to be featured include Wollongong, Kiama and Jervis Bay, while in the Blue Mountains National Park, the show will highlight the area’s peaks, valleys, waterfalls and lookout points, plus Scenic World and Lilianfels Resort. The broadcast is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, in conjunction with Tourism Australia. In the year ended June 2017, NSW welcomed 90,200 overnight visitors from Malaysia who spent $187 million in the State. Malaysian visitors stayed nearly 1.7 million nights in NSW, up by 4.3% on the previous year.
ON-DEMAND WEBCASTS GO LIVETwo free, on-demand webcasts, offering tips for NSW tourism businesses on working with the media, are available to watch online now. Reaching Bloggers and Instagrammers explains why influencers are valuable advocates for your business. The Great Media Stories provides tips on how to work effectively with journalists. These sessions are part of the NSW First Program, which is designed by Destination NSW to assist NSW tourism businesses. GET IN EARLY FOR THREDBO FESTIVALEarly bird passes to the Thredbo Blues Festival go on sale next week. The Festival, between 19 and 21 January, is in its 24th year, and will feature 20 Australian and international blues performers taking the stage at venues across Thredbo Village as well as the Eagles Nest, at the top of the chairlift. There will also be poolside gigs and late-night parties at the Schuss and Keller bars. Find out more. SELLING SYDNEY AND NSW TO SINGAPOREA collaborative marketing campaign designed to inspire Singaporeans to book a trip to Sydney and regional NSW, has won gold in the Social Media category at the 2017 Marketing Excellence Awards in Singapore. The ‘Outdo Yourself in Sydney – Epic Selfie Chase’ campaign was part of a broader marketing program undertaken in partnership with Destination NSW and Scoot in 2016/17. The campaign generated an estimated $4.7 million in visitor expenditure to the State. IRONMAN IN WESTERN SYDNEYTriathletes from around the world will converge on the beautiful Penrith Lakes in Western Sydney on Sunday for the Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships Western Sydney. The 1.9-kilometre swim section is raced in the lakes, the 21.1-kilometre run course takes in the Great River Walk along the banks of the Nepean River and the 90-kilometre bike course takes place against a backdrop of the Blue Mountains. Find out more. BEHIND THE SCENES WITH MURIELFans of the new Muriel’s Wedding The Musical will be able to watch a documentary about it on ABC this Sunday at 7.30pm. A collaboration between the ABC and Screen Australia, Making Muriel will show how the Aussie movie was adapted for the stage by the film’s writer, PJ Hogan. Muriel’s Wedding The Musical is showing at the Roslyn Packer Theatre until 27 January 2018. Buy tickets here. SURFING TITLES HIT SOUTH COASTCulburra Beach on the NSW South Coast will be swarming with young surfers from across Australia this week at the Surf, Dive n’ Ski Australian Junior Surfing Titles. From tomorrow until 2 December surfers will be competing in the Australian Junior Titles and Australian School Surfing Titles which make up the event, in Under 14, 16 and 18 age groups, in boys and girls divisions. Find out more. |