The strategy asserts that “NSW is positioned to dominate Australia’s business events sector” and that the new Western Sydney International Airport (WSI), set to open late next year, “will redefine NSW’s business events landscape”.
The strategy is specifically looking to “foster innovation in the knowledge economy” through its events pillar – a clear nod to the power of business events – in addition to driving positive economic, social and cultural outcomes through hosting events in New South Wales. Regional dispersal is also a key outcome nominated in the events pillar.
“BESydney has long been an advocate for recognition of the ‘beyond tourism’ benefits of business events,” said BESydney CEO Amanda Lampe.
“It is wonderful to see that spelt out in this strategy, along with the commitment to whole-of-government collaboration to support the growth ambition.
“Our research for more than a decade with the UTS business school shows how the business events we bring to Sydney attract global experts, drive innovation and contribute to investment and talent attraction.”
Business events actions proposed in the strategy heavily feature Sydney’s event bidding organisation, BESydney.
The three actions include reinforcing partnerships and refreshing the business events strategy with BESydney to identify and prioritise key sectors, actively pursuing business events opportunities in Western Sydney – through BESydney – and in regional NSW and prioritising business events infrastructure opportunities in Western Sydney and regional NSW.
Looking at the visitor economy strategy more broadly, the other four strategic pillars are making it easy for more people to visit NSW, a focus on attracting visitors, a focus on experiences and leveraging data and insights.
Prioritising the visitor experience, embedding sustainability, encouraging innovation and agility, promoting collaboration, supporting the industry and accountability and inclusion are the “guiding principles” of the strategy.
In terms of getting to the $91 billion visitor spend target by 2035, the strategy flags a 4.9 per cent compound annual growth rate and includes interim targets of reaching $59 billion in visitor spend by 2026, $71 billion by 2030 and $91 billion by the middle of next decade. In 2024, combined domestic and international visitor spend reached a record high of $53.2 billion. The strategy also notes a forecast 10 per cent per annum growth in international visitor spend.
Other goals of the strategy include growing commercial aviation capacity by 8.5 million seats, the addition of 40,400 new accommodation rooms across the state and growing the visitor economy workforce by 150,000 jobs.
BESydney’s chair, Professor Mary O’Kane AC, said the organisation was “thrilled to see the NSW Government’s commitment to driving growth through events”.
“This strategy will help BESydney to unlock new potential across the city, particularly with the opening of the Western Sydney International Airport next year,” she said.
