Western Sydney’s tourism and business events sector gathered today for the Western Sydney Business Events Forum, hosted by the Western Sydney Tourism Taskforce (WSTTF) at the William Inglis Hotel. The Forum brought together senior leaders from hotels, event venues, clubs, and local government to advance strategies for attracting more business events to the region and to shape the next phase of Western Sydney’s visitor and events economy.
The forum features keynote presentations, the launch of new regional research, a panel discussion, and a guided venue tour. Speakers include:
- Fazila Farhad, Chair Western Sydney Tourism Taskforce
- Mayor Ned Mannoun, Liverpool City Council
- Amanda Lampe, CEO, BE Sydney
- Michaela Chan, Executive Board Member, WSTTF (Research Launch Lead)
- Matt Leavey, Chief Commercial Officer, Panthers Group
- Sam Fakih, General Manager, Novotel Cabramatta / Cabravale Club Resort
- Arthur Inglis, Deputy Chair, William Inglis and Son Ltd
- Varun Sareen, Regional Sales Director, Cvent Australia
The panel discussed the importance of packaging events with compelling local experiences and highlighted the clear advantages of hosting events in Western Sydney — including easier parking, convenient hotel options, and strong cost-effectiveness and ROI compared with holding events in the CBD.
Fazila Farhad- (Western Sydney Tourism Taskforce) emphasized:
“With the Western Sydney International Airport set to open in 2026, the region is entering one of the most significant periods of transformation in its history. The forum aims to unify industry stakeholders, drive new collaboration pathways, and strengthen Western Sydney’s positioning as a premier business-events destination. Business events are a major generator of economic activity, bringing investment, new industries, and global attention to Western Sydney. Delegates contribute to local employment, hospitality demand, and long-term economic uplift. With a delegate capacity of fifty-seven thousand in the region as per our research paper we are launching today, we surely need more business events coming our way”
Mayor Ned Mannoun (Liverpool City Council) touched upon the importance of the WSI Airport opening and highlighted the importance of branding and positioning the region as a major destination with some large tourism assets already in the Liverpool LGA.A copy of our research paper launched was formally presented to the Mayor by WSTTF
Amanda Lampe (Business Event Sydney) highlighted the importance of preparing Western Sydney for event readiness and leveraging the region’s diversity to deliver exceptional delegate experiences. She noted that BE Sydney is actively exploring opportunities to attract more events to the region in line with emerging market needs.
Launch of the Research Paper: Greater Western Sydney Unlocked
WSTTF formally announced the launch of its first research paper Greater Western Sydney Unlocked, the first in-depth analysis of thirteen Greater Sydney LGA’s with no of hotel rooms, delegate capacity, connectivity to both Sydney Airports and a Tourism Landscape. A presentation was given to the audience highlighting the reports analytical findings of the region.
