News & Media

The NSW Government is investing in world-class live music experiences and delivering a major boost to communities across NSW, with Great Southern Nights 2026 set to bring more than 300 gigs to hundreds of venues from 1 to 17 May.

Missy Higgins, Paul Kelly, Jet, Baker Boy, Lime Cordiale, Jessica Mauboy and Peking Duk are among the Australian artists who will light up stages across Inner and Western Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Dubbo, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga, Byron Bay, Brunswick Heads, the South Coast and Orange.

NSW State Government is delivering close to $10 million to plant around 24,000 trees which will green our streets and reduce the impacts of urban heating across Greater Sydney, the Illawarra-Shoalhaven, Hunter, and Central Coast. The Greening our City grants have been awarded to 28 projects and will provide 47,000 square metres of biodiverse understorey planting, transforming streets, parks, and public spaces into cooler, greener environments.

Research has shown that shaded surfaces may be 11-25°C cooler than the peak temperatures of unshaded surfaces.

This fifth round of the Greening our City grant program was expanded to Illawarra-Shoalhaven, the Hunter, and Central Coast.

The value of the wellness tourism market in the Asia Pacific has risen to $215 billion.

The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has released its annual Country Rankings report, which reveals Australia is now a top 10 wellness market.

Australia rose three places in the rankings, up from twelfth to ninth place. Spending on wellness in Australia reached $141 billion in 2024, with the sector recording 7.6 per cent annual growth between 2019 and 2024.

Sports tourism is forecast to account for 60 per cent of total sports economy revenue growth until 2030.

A new report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) has highlighted sports tourism as driving rapid growth of the sports economy.

The global sporting ecosystem currently generates around $3.3 trillion in annual revenues and it accounts for close to two per cent of global GDP. Projections show the sector could nearly quadruple by 2050, reaching up to $12.7 trillion annually.

The number of short-term visitor arrivals to NSW in November 2025 was 325,340, compared to 298,050 in November 2019.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows short-term visitor arrivals to Australia have surged past pre-pandemic levels.

A total of 831,170 short-term visitor arrivals were recorded in November 2025, an increase of 135,810 compared to November 2024 (up 19.5 per cent year-on-year).

The number of trips was also 1.9 per cent higher than the pre-COVID-19 level in November 2019.

The NSW visitor economy has exceeded its phase one target for the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2035, with new data showing visitor expenditure surging to $59.4 billion in the year ending September 2025.

Tourism Research Australia (TRA) reports total visitor expenditure in NSW reached $59.4 billion during the period, up 7.3 per cent year-on-year. The Strategy’s goal was to reach $59 billion in the year ending December 2026.

The nation-leading result was boosted by a record $14 billion in international visitor expenditure during the period.

NSW welcomed four million international visitors — up 8.4 per cent year-on-year — who stayed a record 104.2 million nights.

Congratulations to all the finalists and winners in the Event Venues category at the NSW Tourism Awards 2025.

NSW Tourism Association announced the winners at a gala celebration at Waterview in Bicentennial Park, Sydney – recognising outstanding commitment to excellence.

International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) took home Gold, Silver went to Crowne Plaza Terrigal Pacific, while Bronze was awarded to Mantra On Salt Beach.

Driving growth through business events is a key pillar of the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2035 and these world-class venues will ensure NSW continues to dominate the sector.

Jetstar has launched its new Hobart-Newcastle route, with the connection set to boost tourism across both cities.

There will be three weekly return services linking the Hunter and Hobart until 21 April 2026, operated by Jetstar’s A320 fleet and providing more than 22,000 new low-cost seats on the route this season.

It comes six weeks after Jetstar restarted international flying from Newcastle, offering four flights a week to Bali (Denpasar) and connections to Singapore.

The latest Tourism Research Australia data shows NSW is Australia’s number one destination for agritourism visitors, nights and expenditure.

In the year ending December 2024, there were 5.3 million trips to NSW involving agritourism, with 13 per cent from overseas, 51 per cent from domestic overnight visitors and 36 per cent from domestic day trip visitors.

There were 4.6 million domestic overnight and day trip agritourism visitors during the period, up 6.7 per cent year-on-year. These visitors stayed 8.4 million nights and spent $3.6 billion, up 1.9 per cent year-on-year.

The top three NSW destinations for domestic travellers were the Hunter Valley, North Coast and South Coast

NSW Tourism Association has announced the winners of the 2025 NSW Tourism Awards at a gala celebration at Waterview in Bicentennial Park, Sydney – recognising outstanding commitment to tourism excellence.

Gold, silver and bronze awards were presented across 30 categories, celebrating excellence in business practices, visitor experiences and sustainability.

In total, 78 winners were presented from 125 finalists, marking one of the largest and most competitive awards in recent years.

Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia (UWEA) has welcomed Mount Pleasant Wines in NSW’s Hunter Valley to its hand-selected wine tourism collective.

One of the Hunter Valley’s most iconic and historic wineries, Mount Pleasant was founded in 1921 by Maurice O’Shea, who is widely regarded as the father of modern Australian winemaking for his pioneering approach to table wines, meticulous blending techniques and use of French oak, at a time when fortified wines dominated the market.

Jetstar’s Denpasar (Bali)-Newcastle service will connect with its Singapore-Denpasar service from late March.

Within weeks of Newcastle Airport’s inaugural flight to Bali, Jetstar has responded to exceptionally high demand from across the Hunter region by adding a fourth weekly service to the route and enabling travellers to continue through to Singapore, creating a new international gateway for the Hunter, Central Coast and Mid North Coast.

From 29 March 2026, Jetstar will operate direct services between Newcastle and Bali (JQ88) on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday with all four weekly Jetstar flights to continue on to Singapore, via a 90-minute stop in Denpasar.

This new schedule will take Newcastle Airport to 96,512 seats annually on the Bali route, unlocking an additional 24,000 low fare connections.

Travellers from Singapore will be able to seamlessly fly to Newcastle with a 90-minute layover in Bali, opening a single-ticket gateway into the Hunter.

Jetstar has announced that its Denpasar (Bali)-Newcastle service, which took off for the first time on 21 October 2025, will connect with its Singapore-Denpasar service from late March.

Travellers from Singapore will be able to seamlessly fly to Newcastle with a 90-minute layover in Bali, opening a single-ticket gateway into the Hunter from Singapore for the first time.

Jetstar’s first-ever direct flight from Bali to Newcastle took off last month, marking a major milestone for the Hunter region.

Newcastle Airport’s first international flight outside Australasia has landed, with the route between the Hunter and Denpasar (Bali) commencing on 21 October 2025. Supported by the NSW Government’s Aviation Attraction Fund, delivered by Destination NSW, the new route follows the recent opening of the airport’s international terminal.

The flight is a full-circle moment for both the airport and the airline. Jetstar operated its very first commercial service from Newcastle in 2004 and now becomes the airline to lead Newcastle into its international future.

Football Australia is thrilled to announce that the CommBank Matildas will host New Zealand, the Football Ferns, for a two-match series during the November/December FIFA Women’s International Window.

Thanks to the support of the New South Wales Government through its tourism and major events authority, Destination NSW, the CommBank Matildas will kick off the series at polytec Stadium, Gosford, on Friday 28 November 2025 (7:30pm AEDT), taking on Oceania’s strongest team.