A series of measures featured in the State Budget released by the NSW Government targets parts of the NSW visitor economy most heavily impacted from the impacts of COVID-19 according to the State’s peak tourism organisation, the NSW Tourism Industry Council.
“The NSW Budget will ease pressure on the NSW Visitor Economy, particularly in Sydney, as it continues to be heavily impacted by international travel restrictions and state border uncertainty,” said Business NSW Tourism Executive Manager Greg Binskin.
“International tourists spend more than their domestic counterparts and filling the void was never going to be easy. The Budget goes some way to replacing those visitors through new campaigns, events, expanded partnerships and industry development initiatives,” Mr Binskin said.
The events industry will receive a confidence boost with the creation of the State Significant Event Fund to attract major events that draw visitors to NSW. Combined with the Regional Tourism Activation Fund and Regional Events Acceleration Fund, the events industry across NSW can benefit.
The extension of the successful Dine and Discover Program and introduction of Accommodation and “Friyay” vouchers are well targeted to get people back into Sydney’s CBD.
With international borders likely to be closed for some time, more needs to be done to sustain an increase in foot traffic in Sydney’s CBDs. Initiatives to return office workers and charting a course for the cruise industry to reopen will help sustain the deep visitor economy supply chain.
“Navigating the pandemic to ensure businesses stay open while delivering on the 2030 Visitor Economy Strategy is critical to NSW becoming the premier visitor economy of the Asia Pacific,” Mr Binskin said.
