News & Media

IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) has announced a major hotel pipeline for NSW, including the launch of extended-stay brand Staybridge Suites and new hotels in Newcastle and Gosford.

IHG has signed an agreement with Australian property developer ALAND to launch Staybridge Suites.

Under the agreement, ALAND will have exclusive development rights for Staybridge Suites in Australia, with a portfolio of at least 15 hotels comprising a minimum of 2000 rooms to be developed across the country

Newcastle Airport’s Hobart-Newcastle service is returning for an extended second season, with a 27 per cent capacity increase.

The seasonal Jetstar route will commence on 27 October 2026 and continue until 24 April 2027, starting more than a month earlier than its debut year and offering over 28,000 seats

A new survey has revealed almost 80 per cent of cruise passengers would return to Newcastle and its surrounds.

The survey, conducted between 19 October 2025 and 31 March 2026, highlights consistently positive passenger sentiment:

• Overall visitor experience rated 4.5 out of 5, reflecting high satisfaction with local services, amenities, and the ease of exploring the city.
• Almost 80 per cent of passengers indicated they would return to Newcastle and Surrounds — a notable result given that 62 per cent of respondents were international travellers.
• Welcome Volunteers and Visitor Information services received the highest ratings of all destination touchpoints, underscoring the strength of Newcastle’s community-led visitor welcome program

Winemakers and producers from across Australia gathered last week for the 2027 Halliday Wine Companion Awards, with the Hunter Valley taking home multiple accolades.

Following a year of tastings from more than 1000 wineries, Broke Fordwich’s Margan Wines was awarded the trophy for Other Reds & Blends of the Year for its Saxonvale Mourvèdre 2024.

It was the sustainably certified vineyard’s first varietal category win, with the wine described by the judges as “a pristine example of mourvèdre”.

The prestigious awards program celebrates the nation’s top winemakers, viticulturist talents, wineries and vintages.

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.