Insights - 14 June 2024
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SPECTACULAR FINALE FOR VIVID SYDNEY 2024
Vivid Sydney 2024 is celebrating its final two nights on 14 and 15 June 2024 with a showcase of creativity and innovation across its pillars of Light, Music, Ideas and Food.
Over 23 nights, Australia's largest festival has been exploring the theme of ‘Humanity’ at locations and venues including Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House, The Rocks, State Library of New South Wales, Walsh Bay, Barangaroo, Darling Harbour, University of Technology Sydney, The Goods Line, Machine Hall, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Carriageworks and more.
Upcoming highlights include Ghanaian chef Selassie Atadika's collaboration with Dixson & Sons executive chef Steven Hartert on 14 and 15 June as part of the Vivid Food program; an evening of traditional storytelling through song by Arnhem Land’s Ngulmiya on 14 June at Machine Hall as part of the Vivid Music program; and a screening of the documentary Flee at Golden Age Cinema on 15 June as part of the Vivid Ideas program.
The free Tumbalong Nights music program will wrap up on 15 June with performances by 2023's National Indigenous Music Awards Artist of the Year Budjerah and Jem Cassar-Daley, while pitmasters will fire up the grills and offer free demonstrations at the Vivid Fire Kitchen.
Vivid Sydney's popular drone show - 'Love is in the Air' - will take to the skies for its last display on 15 June, with 700 drones forming universal symbols of love across the night sky over Sydney Harbour.
The display can be enjoyed from numerous vantage points across the CBD and harbour foreshore and on screens throughout the festival footprint. Any updates regarding the show, including advice about vantage points reaching capacity or being closed, will be shared on Vivid Sydney's social media channels, its website and on digital screens around the footprint.
If you can’t make it to Vivid Sydney, watch a video of 'Love Is In The Air' here.
For more information go to vividsydney.com.
VIVID IDEAS LIGHT UP SYDNEY
One of the cornerstones of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest multi-artform festival is Vivid Ideas, which has been sparking curiosity through new ways of exploring ideas, including theatre, installations and engaging discussions.
Vivid Ideas curator Rachel Healy said: “This year we’ve broadened the program to include events that express ideas in less traditional formats. Think performance, walking tours, a one-on-one experience with a stranger, meditations and cryptoscopophilia [the urge to look into houses while walking past]!"
Highlights included ‘Champions of Change: Mackenzie Arnold and Tony Gustavsson' on 10 June, which was an opportunity to hear from the sporting icons ahead of the CommBank Matildas pursuit for gold to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The sold out 'In Conversation With Amy Poehler' event on 27 May saw the Golden Globe® and Emmy Award® winning actress and comedian step inside the Sydney Opera House to discuss her career and new film Inside Out 2.
New to the program for 2024 has been 'After The Fact', a free deep-dive into current affairs and the daily news cycle featuring a rotating panel of high-profile changemakers, analysts and experts, offering fresh perspectives on the world’s pressing issues.
VIVID SYDNEY 2024: BEHIND THE SCENES
Bringing Vivid Sydney to life wouldn't be possible without the technical and operational teams, events, editorial and content, legal and procurement, research, corporate communications, Ministerial, consumer marketing, publicity, digital and stakeholder engagement staff and volunteers, who work alongside Vivid Sydney curators and producers to enable the festival to bring joy to millions of attendees.
Led by Destination NSW General Manager Events Julie Turpie and Vivid Sydney Festival Director Gill Minervini, the Vivid Sydney team work year-round to plan the program across the pillars of Light, Music, Ideas and Food.
Destination NSW received more than 582 applications for Vivid Sydney 2024 via the Expression of Interest process. Some international installations subsequently spend up to three months travelling by sea to the festival, while it takes more than six months to plan and create the artwork that is projected onto the Sydney Opera House sails.
Installing lights across the city takes six weeks, including three weeks of work on the Sydney Harbour Bridge alone.
Throughout the festival, Destination NSW staff and teams from other government agencies work together at the Government Coordination Centre and Event Control Centre to ensure the event runs smoothly.
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.
Thank you to everyone who contributes to making Vivid Sydney so memorable.
STRONG OUTLOOK FOR VISITOR ECONOMY
New Tourism Research Australia data shows visitor expenditure in Australia reached $208 billion in 2023.
The State of the Industry report forecasts that international visitor spend will reach pre-pandemic numbers by 2025. International visitor expenditure reached $28 billion in 2023, up 120 per cent on the previous year. In 2019 international expenditure was $31.44 billion.
International visitor arrivals reached 7.2 million, up 95 per cent on the previous year, with the largest international markets being New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom and China.
Domestic overnight trip expenditure was up eight per cent to $109 billion, with domestic day trip spend up 13 per cent to $33 billion.
View the full report here.
SYDNEY LEADS WEEKEND VISITATION RECOVERY
New data from Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) shows weekend city visitation has recovered in Sydney more strongly than any other Australian metropolitan centre.
In April 2024, weekend visits to Sydney’s CBD were at 115 per cent of pre-COVID-19 levels, rising to 119 per cent from 6pm to midnight.
Total visitation to Sydney’s CBD - including visitors and workers - was at 85 per cent of pre-COVID-19 levels in April 2024, rising from 77 per cent in April 2023.
Learn more here.
INTERNATIONAL ARRIVALS RISE IN APRIL
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows there were 223,790 short-term visitor arrivals to NSW in April 2024, an increase of 23,570 compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.
The number of trips for April 2024 was 16.2 per cent lower than pre-COVID-19 levels in April 2019.
The three leading source countries for NSW were New Zealand (34,600 trips), China (24,950) and the United States (23,870).
Learn more here.
$3.5 MILLION BOOST FOR HARRIS PARK
Harris Park's reputation as a destination that celebrates South-Asian communities will be elevated following the City of Parramatta securing a $3.5 million Australian Government ‘Investing in Our Communities’ grant.
The grant will fund streetscape beautification, including a ‘welcome gate’, street furniture, upgraded lighting and the installation of culturally themed decorative lights along Wigram Street, Marion Street and Station Street East.
City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Pierre Esber said: “Harris Park is no longer one of Sydney’s hidden gems - it’s now on the world radar. This funding will help create something truly special for our community, enhance the visitor experience and ensure those visitors keep coming back."
Works are expected to be completed in early 2026.
BUSINESS EVENTS NSW FAMILS BOOST
REGIONAL VISITOR ECONOMIES
Destination NSW has showcased immersive experiences in regional NSW to conference, meeting and incentive planners during its recent 2024 Business Events NSW familiarisation (famil) series.
Famils were held in Newcastle, Port Stephens, Orange, Bathurst and the Sapphire Coast.
Hosting famils plays a critical role in raising awareness and consideration of NSW in the mindset of buyers, driving new sales leads and bookings for regional NSW stakeholders.
NSW visitor economy businesses can take advantage of opportunities in the business events sector by creating a free listing on bensw.com.au
Learn more about the famil series here.
SXSW SYDNEY TRIUMPHS AT MEA AWARDS
South by Southwest (SXSW) Sydney has won Major Event or Festival of the Year at the 2024 MEA Awards.
Supported proudly by Destination NSW, SXSW Sydney is an annual gathering of visionaries, thought leaders and emerging talents from the Asia-Pacific region.
The week-long program in October 2023 featured more than 1000 events and networking sessions across the key pillars of Tech & Innovation, Games, Music and Screen. SXSW Sydney 2024 will take place from 14-20 October 2024.
The MEA Awards celebrate excellence in the organisation, planning and delivery of business events, major events and festivals, special events, cause-related events, conferences and exhibitions.
Congratulations to all the NSW winners, including Sydney Showground (Event Venue – 1000+ capacity), Crown Plaza Terrigal (Event Hotel of the Year), Destination North Coast Business Events (Excellence in Destination Marketing Business) and TAFE NSW's Nicci Gow (Event Educator of the Year).
Learn more here.
MEETINGS & EVENTS AUSTRALIA EVOLVE CONFERENCE
FOR HUNTER VALLEY
Destination NSW was proud to support the Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) Evolve Conference, held this week at Rydges Resort Hunter Valley.
MEA is the largest and oldest association for event professionals in Australia. It represents the broader events sector, which employs more than 229,000 professionals who stage, produce, manage, support and supply more than 480,000 events nationally each year.
It was the first time the event had been held in NSW since 2017. The conference welcomed more than 200 national events industry delegates to the region, delivering significant economic and industry benefits to the local visitor economy.
Business Events NSW was an exhibitor at the conference, which provided an opportunity to highlight Destination NSW’s fresh approach to growing the business events sector in regional NSW.
FREE WORKSHOPS TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS
Destination 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. Upcoming sessions will be held in Orange (17 June), Newcastle (21 June), Byron Bay (26 June) and Wollongong (28 June).
CHOOSE TOURISM INDUSTRY SURVEY
Choose Tourism NSW is conducting an industry survey to gain insights into workforce challenges and gaps in skills. The information will enable program initiatives to be delivered to better support businesses. Feedback will also be provided to workplace support agencies to guide them in addressing common issues.
CRUISE-READY WORKSHOP FOR SYDNEY
Destination NSW will hold a cruise-ready workshop in Sydney on 3 July 2024. It will offer advice and strategies for visitor economy businesses to help them make the most of cruise opportunities. Topics will include learning about the cruise distribution network, markets and demographics; how to create cruise shore excursions; and information on Destination NSW cruise resources and support.
NEWCASTLE HOSTS CRUISE-READY WORKSHOP
Destination NSW hosted a cruise-ready workshop in Newcastle on 12 June 2024, which was attended by more than 90 operators. The workshop explored how to leverage the booming Newcastle cruise market following the record-breaking 2023-24 season. During the period, Newcastle welcomed 16 cruise ship arrivals and more than 20,000 passengers and 10,000 crew, who injected more than $6 million into the local economy.
BUSIEST REGIONAL
CRUISE PORT
Eden was the busiest regional cruise port in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania during the 2023-24 cruise season. It welcomed 40 cruise ships and 62,211 passengers, with 10,274 people booking shore excursions. The cruise sector boosted the region's visitor economy by an estimated $17 million.
NEW BANGARRA DANCE THEATRE CAMPAIGN
Bangarra Dance Theatre has launched a new campaign called 'Where will we take you?'. It targets audiences seeking to gain a deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories and to contribute to the journey of reconciliation. The campaign also aims to attract new and more diverse audiences.
DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER WINE SUMMIT
The Wine Communicators of Australia Direct-to-Consumer Wine Summit will be held in Sydney on 25 June 2024. The summit is designed to deliver insights, share successful strategies and provide a platform for wine brands to explore growth opportunities in the direct-to-consumer market.
JOIN AN EXPERIENCE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
Destination NSW is presenting a series of Experience Development workshops delivered under the NSW First Program. These free, full-day workshops assist businesses to create and refine visitor experiences. The next workshops will be held in the Southern Highlands (18 June) and Hilltops (20 June).
FUNDING FOR WOMEN'S ASIAN CUP
The Australian Government will contribute $15 million to the shared cost of hosting the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 2026. The competition will be hosted in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia and is expected to generate more than $200 million for the visitor economy. More than 24,000 international visitors are expected to attend the event and matches will be broadcast to a global audience of hundreds of millions.
SUPERCROSS COUP FOR WOLLONGONG
Wollongong local and UFC star Alex Volkanovski has been named as an ambassador for the Fox Australian Supercross Championship round at WIN Stadium on 2 November 2024. The ticket pre-sale will begin on 18 June, with official sales opening on 21 June 2024. The Fox Australian Supercross Championship is expected to draw visitors from across the nation and is supported proudly by Destination NSW.
VISITOR ECONOMY WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS
AUSTRALIA MARKETPLACE UK & EUROPE 2024 SELLER APPLICATIONS OPEN: The event will include two days of pre-scheduled appointments in London between buyers and sellers, as well as networking opportunities, from 18-20 November. Learn more
REGISTRATIONS OPEN FOR THE AUSTRALIAN INDIGENOUS TOURISM CONFERENCE: The conference will be held in Melbourne from 29-31 October 2024. Learn more
NEW GUIDE TO ONLINE ACCESSIBLE TOURISM COMMUNICATION: Tourism Australia has released a guide offering tips to enhance the accessibility of online content. Learn more
ICC SYDNEY CEO TO STEP DOWN: Chief Executive Geoff Donaghy has announced he will depart his full-time role on 30 August 2024. Learn more
RECOVERY SUPPORT AVAILABLE FOR FLOOD-AFFECTED NSW COMMUNITIES: Disaster assistance is now available in the Camden, Kiama, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Wingecarribee and Wollongong Local Government Areas following the impact of flooding on 6 June 2024. Learn more
BETTER REST STOP FOR OUTBACK NSW: Motorists are set to benefit from a $255,000 safety and infrastructure upgrade being delivered by the NSW Government to the Gilgunnia Goldfields Rest Area, located on the Kidman Highway. Learn more
NEW SYDNEY WATERFRONT RELEASES ESG MATERIALITY ASSESSMENT: The assessment has been developed in partnership with BDO and funded by the City of Sydney. 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
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