News & Media

The NSW Government continues to cement NSW as Australia’s number one destination for tourism, with the state attracting more than one in three domestic caravan and camping visitors.

According to Tourism Research Australia data, NSW was the destination of choice for 5.5 million domestic caravan and camping visitors in 2025.

The year ending December 2025 was the biggest year on record for domestic caravan and camping trips in Australia. Almost one in every seven domestic overnight trips during the period was a caravan and camping trip.

Domestic travellers took 17.3 million caravan and camping trips across Australia in 2025, up 14 per cent year-on-year, with expenditure reaching $12.6 billion, well above pre-pandemic levels of $10.2 billion.

As the host state for ATE27, Destination NSW will provide a range of additional opportunities associated with the event.

Destination NSW is inviting export-ready NSW visitor economy businesses to express interest in opportunities associated with the Australian Tourism Exchange 2027 (ATE27).

Australia’s largest annual travel and tourism event will return to Sydney from 16-20 May 2027.

ATE27 will bring together top tourism buyers from across the world and Australian businesses to establish connections and sell local experiences in international markets

Cruise contributes more than $7.3 billion in annual economic activity in Australia and supports more than 22,000 Australian jobs.

The newly formed Australian Paddock to Port Alliance has released the Australia’s Paddock to Port Economic Impact Report to highlight the economic contribution of the cruise industry.

The Alliance will highlight the businesses behind every cruise ship visit, from the produce loaded on board and the suppliers who deliver it, to the hotels, tour operators, transport providers, retailers and regional communities that benefit when cruise ships choose Australia.

Launched this week, the Alliance brings together Australian farmers, food suppliers, tourism operators, travel agents, ports and cruise industry leaders to make the economic case for a strong and competitive cruise sector.

More than 200 visitor economy professionals from across the Hunter and surrounding regions gathered at Bannisters Port Stephens on 24 July for the 2026 Hunter Tourism Industry Event.

The event reinforced the importance of collaboration, capability building and industry leadership in growing the NSW visitor economy.

Hosted by Destination Port Stephens in partnership with regional tourism organisations, the event brought together accommodation providers, tour operators, attractions, local government representatives and visitor economy stakeholders to connect, share ideas and explore future opportunities for regional tourism.

City of Newcastle has released its Night-Time Economy 2026 Report, which shows the sector generated $2.3 billion in 2025 and accounted for 13,600 jobs across 1027 businesses.

Proposals are now being invited to support the development of the city’s new five-year City Vibrancy Strategy, which will provide a roadmap to support business growth and sustainability, enhance the visitor economy, strengthen the city’s night-time economy and unlock new opportunities for investment, business and job creation.

The strategy will seek to strengthen the night-time economy and investigate the feasibility of one or more Special Entertainment Precincts in the city to encourage a range of 24-hour economic activity.

National parks across NSW recorded their highest ever visitation in the last financial year with 65.5 million visits.

The state’s network of around 900 parks and reserves not only connected people with nature during the period, they injected $19.5 billion to the state’s economy.

According to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Park Visitation Survey, the top 10 most visited parks in the 2024-25 financial year included Bouddi National Park – 1.6 million visits and Glenrock State Conservation Area – 1.5 million visits.

The NSW Government is putting money where it matters, delivering more than $1.3 million to support 56 grassroots events across regional NSW through the 2026/27 Regional Event Fund.

Through Destination NSW, grants of up to $50,000 will go toward marketing, PR, infrastructure and equipment hire, the practical support that turns a good local event into a destination worth travelling for.

The NSW Government is driving growth across regional NSW with the launch of a new tourism marketing strategy designed to attract even more visitors, boost local businesses and create jobs across Regional NSW.

The first phase of the strategy will showcase Byron Bay, the Barrington Coast, Shoalhaven, Sapphire Coast and Port Stephens.

Newcastle will soon be home to a new world-class arena with the NSW Government committing $14 million to unlock the next stage of planning for the new Newcastle Arena.

The plans include a new 12,000 capacity entertainment centre, creating a world-class indoor arena attracting up to 160 new events to the Hunter each year.

The Hunter Valley’s Brokenwood Wines has won a Best in Show trophy at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2026 (DWWA).

Now in its 23rd year, DWWA is recognised as the world’s largest wine competition and is widely regarded as the global benchmark for wine quality, combining judging expertise, international reach and a rigorous, transparent tasting process.

The NSW Visitor Economy Forum will return on 9 November 2026, joining with the NSW Tourism Awards for the first time to create a major new gathering for the state’s visitor economy at ICC Sydney.

Hosted by Destination NSW, the NSW Visitor Economy Forum 2026 will be free to attend and open to all visitor economy stakeholders from across industry and government. The event will bring together tourism operators, industry representatives and government colleagues to share insights, explore emerging trends and focus on the opportunities shaping the year ahead.

The Australian and NSW Governments are co-investing $3.6 million in Strategic Indigenous Tourism Projects (SITP) to help grow Aboriginal tourism in NSW.

The NSW Aboriginal Visitor Experience Accelerator, led by Destination NSW in collaboration with Create NSW and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, is designed to accelerate the growth, capability and reach of Aboriginal-led experiences and events across the state.

More than $2 million under the partnership will see the expansion of the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s Cultural Tour Program, including training around 200 people through the Aboriginal Tour Guide Pathway Training Program.

NSW Tourism Association has announced the winners of the 2026 NSW Top Tourism Town Awards, officially presented at the Local Government NSW Destination and Visitor Economy Conference in Maitland.

The awards celebrate the outstanding regional destinations across NSW that deliver exceptional visitor experiences, showcase strong community pride and continue to inspire travellers to explore more of the state.

The awards program recognises towns across three population categories and includes a consumer voting component through the NRMA People’s Choice Award, celebrating the destinations most loved by visitors.

Private Hotel Owner and Developer HVL Hotels has announced Laval Hunter Valley—a new 65-key luxury resort and tourism destination on the 165-acre historic Lindeman Estate in Pokolbin, opening in the second half of 2027.

Laval marks the first new-build luxury resort development of this scale in the Hunter Valley in two decades.

Conceived as ‘an international hotel, made in Australia’, Laval is designed to offer global standards with a strong sense of place—drawing in a new market segment of domestic and international luxury
travellers to elevate the Hunter Valley’s profile as a global tourism destination.

Broken Bay Pearl Farm and Pullman Magenta Shores Resort have achieved ECO Certification through Ecotourism Australia programs.

ECO Certification assesses businesses, through third party auditing, against Ecotourism Australia’s internationally recognised ecotourism standard across the four pillars of sustainability: environmental, cultural, socio-economic impact and sustainable business operations.

All tours at Broken Bay Pearl Farm are now ECO Certified, offering visitors insight into oyster farming, pearl production, and the role oysters play in maintaining healthy waterways.

Set between the coastline and the waters of Tuggerah Lake, Pullman Magenta Shores Resort has been recognised by Ecotourism Australia for its ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impact while delivering high-quality accommodation and experiences for visitors to the region.