Australia’s peak Tourism body, the Tourism &Transport Forum (TTF) is calling on the NSW Government to further invest in the sectors of tourism, transport and aviation, to ensure that NSW continues to lead the pack when it comes to creating great experiences for visitors and locals alike.
Speaking ahead of the NSW State Budget, TTF Chief Executive Margy Osmond said “We recently were able to celebrate NSW as the number one state for tourism in Australia but to keep winning the trophy, the government must ensure that the industry is looked after financially to ensure it continues to thrive.”
“The 2019/20 NSW State Budget needs to commit to at least $193 million in funding each year, for a minimum of four years for Destination NSW to enable increased destination marketing activities, both internationally and nationally.”
“We congratulate the NSW Government on its re-election, however policymakers must be proactive in the tourism space and must recognise the investment being made by industry. Continuing to work closely with the private sector to harness the latest technology and build and improve upon key infrastructure to make destinations easier to visit and move around in, for locals and visitors is vital,” Ms Osmond said.
Additional key areas that require increased or ongoing investment include:
– Increased support for business events and conferences
– Regional visitor infrastructure and nature-based tourism funding
– Continued support for the aviation sector in NSW
Tourism employs 171,000 people across NSW, contributes $17.3 billion in direct Gross State Product (GSP) to the NSW economy and generates $40.5 billion of consumption spending across the State.
Further, there are 238,000 employed in transport-related roles across the State, which has been investing significantly in its transport systems to keep pace with strong population and visitor growth.
“The NSW Government must be congratulated on its willingness to invest for a great result in both these sectors but there is a critical need to recognise the need for continued investment.
“We are seeing great progress in NSW across many of the areas, so now is the perfect time to keep the momentum going,” Ms Osmond said.
“From the launch of the Northwest Metro Line, the Sydney Light Rail project coming to a finish and watching the enormous numbers of visitors that recently experienced the State’s light spectacular that is Vivid, are all great examples as to why we need to keep building on this amazing energy and progress,” Ms Osmond said.
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