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STATE'S BEST TOURISM STUDENTS HONOURED
Twelve of the State’s best and brightest tourism and hospitality students were recognised in a special ceremony at NSW Parliament House yesterday to mark the 2018 Minister’s Student Achiever Awards.
NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall congratulated the award recipients and commended them for their commitment to excellence in an industry critical to the State’s economy.
“Tourism is big business and today we are rewarding the future generation of stars in the industry to commend them for their efforts and encourage them to continue on this promising path,” Mr Marshall said.
“NSW is home to some of the best tertiary institutions in the industry. The combination of quality facilities and world-class teachers makes for excellent learning environments to foster our future industry leaders.”
Since 1990, the NSW Government has acknowledged academically high achieving tourism and hospitality students at an annual Minister’s Student Achiever Awards ceremony.
For the full list of winners, visit Destination NSW.
NRL GRAND FINAL FEVER HITS SYDNEY
The hometown Sydney Roosters will take on defending champions the Melbourne Storm in this Sunday’s NRL Grand Final at ANZ Stadium.
It will be a history making occasion, with the first ever Women’s Grand Final to be played ahead of the men’s match.
The season deciders will cap a week of Grand Final festivities, including the annual Fan Fest which was held at the Entertainment Quarter on Thursday and the Dally M Awards, which saw Roger Tuivasa-sheck pick up the NRL’s top individual honour during the gala at the Overseas Passenger Terminal on Wednesday night.
The NRL Grand Final attracts visitors from around Australia and the world to Sydney, with hotels, restaurants, bars and tourist attractions set for a bumper long weekend.
Last year’s final between the Melbourne Storm and North Queensland Cowboys attracted 33,000 overnight visitors, injecting almost $23 million into the local visitor economy.
The NRL Grand Final is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
Australian alternative rock act Gang of Youths are this year’s headline act for the pre-game entertainment. Tickets to the NRL Grand Final are available via tickets.nrl.com/grand-final.
WHAT TO DO THIS LONG WEEKEND
This October long weekend there are so many things to do in Sydney and across the whole of NSW, from theatre shows and botanical exhibits to regional food trails.
At Sydney Opera House, the magical theatre production of Bambert’s Book of Lost Stories, runs from 29 Sep to 6 Oct, exploring the power of storytelling. Beautiful but deadly, Plants with Bite is a free and fascinating display of carnivorous plants at The Calyx, Royal Botanical Gardens. For a celebration of diverse music and Aussie beach culture, head to Manly Jazz at Manly Beach.
On the North Coast, the Brunswick Nature Sculpture Walk displays over 50 Australian artworks in the seaside landscape of Brunswick Heads. On the Coffs Coast, the annual Curryfest highlights the Punjabi heritage of beachside town Woolgoolga.
In Western Sydney, the Auburn Festival returns from 2-6pm on 29 September with food, carnival rides and music. The nearby Auburn Botanic Gardens is well worth a visit, particularly in Spring.
Head into the heart of New England farming country and stay in Armidale. On 30 September there’s a traditional country festival, The Kentucky Spring Fair, with hobby horse races, tug-o-war, cake decorating competitions and more.
The Deni Ute Muster celebrates all things Aussie in Deniliquin in the Riverina region from 28 to 29 September. Enjoy ute driving competitions and live music.
NSW GOVERNMENT PROVIDES BOOST TO DUNGOG FESTIVAL
The countdown is on to the 2018 Dungog Festival, with the NSW Government announcing its support of the Upper Hunter’s friendly four-day community event.
Member for Upper Hunter Michael Johnsen said the event will be supported by the State’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
“Once again the Dungog Festival will be a celebration of film, music and delicious regional produce, all set in the spectacular Upper Hunter region of NSW and I am delighted that we’re providing a boost to this event through Destination NSW,” Mr Johnsen said.
NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said supporting events in regional NSW is a key focus for the Government.
“Our continued support for events provides the perfect opportunity to promote the many wonderful destinations across the State, such as the beautiful Upper Hunter and we look forward to welcoming new and returning visitors to the region this September.”
The 2018 Dungog Festival runs from 28 Sep to 1 Oct, visit dungogfestival.com.au.
Image: The Long Table Dinner at the Dungog Festival.
VIVID SYDNEY APPOINTS NEW VIVID LIGHT CURATOR
Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer and Vivid Sydney Executive Producer, Sandra Chipchase, has announced the appointment of Lucy Keeler as Vivid Light Curator.
“Lucy is one of the nation’s leading creative talents and I am delighted to have someone of her immense skill and passion as part of the team working on Australia’s largest event,” Ms Chipchase said.
Lucy Keeler said, “Having designed and worked on some of Vivid Sydney’s largest light installations over the years, including the animal sculptures at Taronga Zoo, Urban Tree Project in Martin Place and Snugglepot and Cuddlepie this year at Customs House, I’m excited to be able to contribute even more of my creative energy to this amazing event.”
Ms Keeler joins Vivid Sydney after success as the co-director of Ample Projects, an award-winning studio responsible for large scale lighting projections, taking over from Vivid Sydney Light Curator, Anthony Bastic of AGB Events.
“On behalf of Vivid Sydney, I extend our special thanks to Anthony Bastic and the team at AGB Events,” Ms Chipchase said.
Vivid Sydney is owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency.
KEITH URBAN TO HOST THE 2018 ARIA AWARDS
ARIA announced this week that Keith Urban will return home to host the 32nd Annual ARIA Awards. The superstar last graced the ARIAs stage in 2007 when he joined John Butler to perform.
While Urban has a total of 14 ARIA platinum-selling singles and albums, earning him a total of five ARIA Awards, it's the first time he has hosted the Awards.
Keith Urban said, “I’m really looking forward to coming home and celebrating an incredible year of Australian music. There’s been so many impressive releases this year, it’s gonna be a tough competition but we get to recognise and honour the best of the best at Aussie music’s night of nights.”
Australian music industry’s biggest night of celebration is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said, “Keith Urban is one of Australia’s greatest musical success stories and we are delighted he will host the 32nd annual ARIA Awards in Sydney."
Visit the ARIA Awards to find out more.
WEST FEST HEADING TO
WESTERN SYDNEY
The West Fest is a community festival which celebrates cultural diversity and heritage with two weeks of creative community activities, forums and events in various locations across Western Sydney from 6 to 21 October.
The festival aims to highlight the vast cultural diversity of Western Sydney and explore ‘intangible cultural heritage’ – traditions that are passed down from ancestors but not tied to a physical place.
Over the fortnight there will be unique opportunities to learn and engage with individuals and businesses in the colourful Western Sydney communities with a fantastic program of talks, workshops and celebrations.
There are food trails, family-oriented history walks, poetry slams and forums. Children can learn traditional farming skills at ‘Earn Your Tucker’ at the Rouse Hill House and Farm, or unleash their creativity at workshops such as Mini Master Builders or Boomerang Art and Throw.
Click here for the full program.
VISSLA SYDNEY SURF PRO
RETURNS TO MANLY
Australia’s home of surfing, Manly Beach, will once again play host to world surfing’s elite when the Vissla Sydney Surf Pro returns in 2019.
The event, which combines a men’s and women’s World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 6,000 with a WSL Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) event, has been secured for another year by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
Member for Manly James Griffin said, “This is an exciting and important event for our local community and with thousands of visitors and tourists in Manly, it provides significant global exposure. We have seen the value of this event for Manly and the more local businesses get behind it the better for our local economy and our community. I believe 2019 can be a bumper year.”
The 2019 event is expected to attract more than 700 overnight visitors to Manly, injecting around $650,000 into the local visitor economy.
The Vissla Sydney Surf Pro will be held at Manly Beach from 16 to 24 March, 2019.
For more information and 2018 highlights, check out www.sydneysurfpro.com.
Image credit: Surfing NSW
THE NEXT BIG THING ACCORDING TO WOTIF
Online booking site Wotif is celebrating its 18th birthday by gifting Australia a new iconic tourism structure, ‘The Next Big Thing’.
After a two-week nationwide search that saw thousands of Aussies submit their ‘Big Thing’ ideas, Wotif has announced four shortlisted finalists, including two from NSW towns: The Big Tulip, Mittagong (NSW); The Big Kilt, Glen Innes (NSW).
The winner will join the ranks of more than 150 unique Australian icons, including Coffs Harbour’s Big Banana and Goulburn’s Big Merino, aiming to support the tourism industry.
Wotif Managing Director, Daniel Finch said that all the submissions reflect what makes Australian culture so unique.
“From the quirky, to the humorous, to the patriotic to the bold, with so many brilliant submissions, the Wotif team had the near-impossible task of choosing only a handful of entries to be shortlisted for public voting,” said Mr Finch.
The vote is now in the hands of the Australian public with the voting process finishing on 9 October via www.wotif.com/nextbigthing
VALE DEAN GORDDARD
Destination NSW recognises the passing of one of the NSW tourism industry’s long serving professionals, Dean Gorddard.
Dean was the Executive Manager, Tourism Industry Division at the NSW Business Chamber and is remembered for his dedication to the State’s visitor economy and for being a strong voice for the tourism industry, including in earlier roles as Executive Manager of Hunter Valley Wine Country Tourism and in regional marketing for former Tourism NSW.
Our condolences and sympathies go to Dean’s family, friends and colleagues.
FLAGSHIP EVENT FUND CLOSING SOON
Event organisers in rural and regional NSW hosting events between January and June 2019, are reminded that applications for the Flagship Event Fund close on Monday, 8 October 2018.
The Fund offers an annual grant of $20,000 or a triennial grant of $27,500 to help organisers market and promote their event to visitors outside their local area.
To lodge an application for Round One of the 2019 Flagship Event Fund, click here. Round Two applications for events between July and December 2019 will open in February 2019.
MURRUMBATEMAN
MOVING FEAST
The Murrumbateman Moving Feast is a creative community initiative of the Makers of Murrumbateman to celebrate the wonderful boutiques wines and delicious local produce from the region.
From 29 to 30 September, food and wine lovers flock to the Yass Valley for the Murrumbateman Moving Feast to roam the countryside visiting cellar doors and sampling local produce.
The roving degustation takes you to various cellar doors, with each winery presenting a signature tasting plate matched to one of their wines for $25 savoury and $20 sweet.
