Beyond the Icons: Review Recommends Shift to Experience-Led Tourism

Responding to research on demand trends and consultation with the industry, the review finds that visitors seek interactive experiences that enable them to connect deeply with local culture, natural landscapes and the people of NSW. This includes nature-based experiences, culinary and agritourism, art and culture, nightlife, First Nations experiences and wellness. 

Research from BDA Marketing Planning and Tourism Research Australia highlighted the experience drivers influencing decision-making among domestic and international visitors. The top four ‘pull’ experience factors when planning a holiday include:

• NSW residents: good food and wine (43 per cent), coastal and beach experiences (40 per cent), history and heritage (30 per cent) and great shopping (27 per cent).
• Interstate visitors: good food and wine (43 per cent), coastal and beach experiences (40 per cent), history and heritage (31 per cent), road trips (30 per cent).
• International visitors: locations that offer beautiful natural environments (31 per cent), good food and beverages (27 per cent), natural wonders (22 per cent) and culturally significant sites (19 per cent).

In addition to the research, the review heard from over 600 visitor economy stakeholders who revealed through 40 round tables and a survey some consistent themes and opportunities for consideration including:

• Visitors want authenticity and to go where locals go.
• Develop and promote self-guided walks around Sydney’s arts and cultural institutions.
• Further develop multicultural precincts around Western Sydney.
• Nature and wellness identified as key opportunities for future growth.
• Opportunity to market NSW’s ‘early morning’ culture.
• Large opportunities to create experience trails: food, cycling, nature walks.
• Destination NSW to promote more regional drive itineraries.

The findings reinforce the importance of the NSW Government’s focus on creative industries, a thriving night-time economy and building neighbourhoods with distinct personalities through its housing and vibrancy agenda. Visitors expect world class experiences during the day and the night, and building vibrant diverse communities will continue to create more pull factors into the future. 

The review into the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2030 was announced by the government in April 2024 and will set out a series of recommendations for future growth. Further recommendations will be released in the coming weeks, ahead of the new Visitor Economy Strategy 2035. 

Having reached a record $51.4 billion of annual visitor expenditure in 2023, the NSW visitor economy is Australia’s biggest and is set for accelerated growth when the Newcastle International and Western Sydney International Airports open in the next two years. The refreshed strategy will position the NSW visitor economy to maximise future growth opportunities. 

“The review’s recommendation is clear; the research tells us that elevating the world-class experiences on offer in NSW will be key to future growth in our visitor economy,” Minister for Jobs and Tourism John Graham said.

“People want more than a selfie at the Opera House, they want to find the unique parts of NSW that allow them to live like a local. This is what will keep visitors coming back time and time again. Our big Sydney Harbour icons are great drawcards, but NSW has so much more to offer. We need to do more work on creating and promoting the incredible experiences on offer in our state. 

“Travellers will go home and tell their best travel story dozens of times in their lifetime. Those stories won’t be about the buildings they saw, it will be about the food they ate, the great show they saw, the spontaneous night out or the great characters they met.”