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Destination NSWAnnual Report 2024-25Operations & performanceProduct, Policy and Engagement

Product, Policy and Engagement

The division is focused on driving stakeholder engagement and increasing collaboration between businesses and government.

During the 2024-25 financial year the Policy, Product and Engagement division focused on driving stakeholder engagement, increasing collaboration between visitor economy businesses and government, and supporting the NSW Government’s vision for the NSW visitor economy.

There are three teams within the division:

  • Product and Distribution Development
  • Regional Hub
  • Corporate Affairs and Policy

Product and Distribution Development

The Product and Distribution Development team assisted NSW visitor economy businesses during the 2024–25 financial year to develop, promote and sell world-class NSW experiences by ensuring visitor needs and demands were met through the supply of products and experiences supported by Destination NSW-led programs.

The team also worked closely with key distribution partners including inbound tour operators, wholesalers, travel agents and online travel agents building strategic relationships to grow awareness of NSW experiences and regions to increase overnight expenditure.

From 10–13 March 2025, Destination NSW hosted the North America Roadshow 2025 (above) in Los Angeles and New York City alongside 19 NSW visitor economy businesses, promoting Sydney and NSW to key North American distribution partners.

The B2B workshops and travel advisor events provided 19 NSW visitor economy businesses with a unique opportunity to showcase their products, build and maintain valuable relationships, and expand their reach in the North American market.

Destination NSW hosted its Focus on North Asia event (above) in November 2024, connecting 58 travel buyers from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea with 30 NSW tourism businesses through two days of B2B workshops.

Attendees participated in a Sydney familiarisation program with visits to BridgeClimb, Sydney Opera House and Taronga Zoo, with pre- and post-workshop familiarisation visits to regional NSW, including visitor experiences in the Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley, Port Stephens, Jervis Bay and Shoalhaven.

The initiative aimed to grow overnight visitor expenditure for NSW by increasing destination and product awareness and raising the profile of NSW tourism suppliers, as well as expanding business opportunities for NSW tourism suppliers with key trade partners from key North Asia markets.

View highlights from Focus on North Asia below:

Destination NSW delivered the NSW First Program to support NSW businesses develop, promote and sell great visitor experiences. In the 2024–25 financial year the agency delivered 27 NSW First events and partner-led, capability-building initiatives to 1,756 participants, with an average 95 per cent satisfaction rating.

The program supported the Visitor Economy Strategy 2030 by fostering industry development and encouraging investment in new product experiences:

  • Nine Experience Development Workshops (in person and virtual) delivered to 461 participants.
  • Partnering with NATOC to deliver the annual Aboriginal Experience Development Pathway initiative for the second time. This included on-Country meetings with 16 Aboriginal businesses and stakeholders, across regional NSW.
  • Delivering a free, half-day Cruise Ready workshop to 90 visitor economy businesses and stakeholders. Speakers and panel guests from NSW Port Authority, the Australian Cruise Association, ground handlers and product suppliers explored the cruise opportunity for businesses, how to create great shore experiences in Sydney and how to sell these to cruise passengers.
  • Supporting 23 NSW businesses to become export-ready and connect as ‘sellers’ with key inbound and online travel buyers at the New Product Workshop, an annual, full-day, appointment-based workshop. This year’s workshop was held in Western Sydney with a focus on meeting increased demand from the opening of Western Sydney Airport and the expansion of Newcastle Airport.
  • Continuation of the partnership between Destination NSW and Get Skilled Access with four Accessible and Inclusive webinars delivered to 359 participants. Topics included disability inclusion in the visitor economy, inclusive customer service, creating accessible digital content and inclusive marketing and communications.

Snapshot

  • Destination NSW trade events: 2
  • NSW business attendees at Destination NSW trade events: 48
  • Trade familiarisations: 45
  • Trade familiarisation participants: 449
  • NSW First Program events delivered: 27 (17 in person
    and 10 digital)
  • Visitor economy business participants in NSW First
    Program events: 1,756
  • Partner programs: 5
  • NSW First Program satisfaction rate: 94.5 per cent

Case study: Australian Tourism Exchange 2025

NSW made a powerful impression at the Australian Tourism Exchange 2025 (ATE25), where Destination NSW and more than 150 visitor economy operators from across the state connected with the world’s most influential travel buyers and media.

Held in Brisbane from 27 April–1 May, ATE25 brought together more than 700 travel distributors and 67 media representatives from 37 countries.

The delegates included more than 150 NSW destinations, products and experiences from across the state.

Each year ATE plays a vital role in accelerating demand for travel to NSW and achieving the state’s $91 billion visitor economy target by 2035.

As part of its focus on growing export-ready experiences, Destination NSW supported operators through its NSW First Program, onboarded 10 emerging businesses via the New Product Pathway and enabled eight Aboriginal tourism businesses to attend through the Aboriginal Tourism Activation Program.

NSW also led the way in agritourism at ATE25’s Farm & Food Trails exhibition, with three booths featured in the central Farmers Market hub, connecting producers directly with global buyers.

To further showcase the state’s regions, Destination NSW hosted six trade familiarisation visits and two international media familiarisations, giving participants a first-hand experience of destinations including the Tweed, Byron Bay, Port Stephens, Newcastle, Hunter Valley, Blue Mountains, Shoalhaven and the Southern Highlands.

Regional Hub

Throughout the 2024–25 financial year the Regional Hub team coordinated regional tourism initiatives, providing insights, engagement and support to grow the visitor economy across regional NSW.

It acted as a central point connecting Destination Networks, industry partners and government to align with the Visitor Economy Strategy 2030 and drive outcomes for regional NSW visitor economy.

The Regional Conferencing unit was responsible for securing and
supporting conferences, incentive programs and corporate events for regional NSW that attracted overnight visitors to regional areas.

The team delivered the Business Events NSW (BENSW) program to raise awareness and consideration for regional NSW as a premier business event destination and drive new event sales enquiries directly to valued stakeholders.

Highlights

  • BENSW program helped secure 45 new business events for NSW across 20+ regional destinations. These events will take place between 2025 and 2028, delivering an estimated 25,700 visitor nights and $11 million in direct expenditure and a 60 per cent increase on business event visitor nights secured via the program in the previous year.
  • Delivered two major industry events: the Business Events NSW Showcase and representation at the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME). These events helped generate more than 150 new leads valued at more than $55 million in potential conference revenue and visitor expenditure for NSW.
  • Consulted across the organisation to help inform regional strategy development.
  • Facilitated regional visits for the Destination NSW Board
    and executive team, providing valuable insight into regional
    opportunities and challenges, and highlighted the importance of local leadership and collaboration.

Case study: Business Events NSW Showcase

The business events sector was identified as a key growth priority
in the NSW Government’s NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2030 Review, delivering high-value visitors who stay longer, spend more and create year-round demand for accommodation, venues and visitor experiences across the state.

Venues and experiences across regional NSW took centre stage at
Destination NSW’s annual Business Events NSW Showcase on 25 June 2025, reinforcing the state’s position as Australia’s number one regional destination for business events.

More than 50 regional NSW operators and destination representatives showcased their offerings to 200 business event and corporate group travel buyers, planners and media at the event, highlighting the state’s incredible depth and diversity from the coast to the country and outback.

Attendees experienced the best of regional NSW through a curated program of tastings, immersive zones and interactive sessions.

The event resulted in:

  • 16.5 per cent increase in total leads to operators (per month) via the BENSW website and 12 per cent increase in monthly website traffic.
  • Seven trade media articles published about the Business Events NSW Showcase and importance of business events to the NSW visitor economy, including Micenet and Travel Weekly.
  • Participation and engagement from more than 200 qualified
    industry buyers and 50 regional NSW stakeholders and suppliers working in the business events sector.

View highlights from the event below:

Corporate Affairs and Policy

The Corporate Affairs and Policy team was responsible for corporate communications, ministerial and parliamentary services and visitor economy policy during the 2024–25 financial year.

The Corporate Communications team worked closely with the Office of the Minister for Jobs and Tourism, delivering proactive media and stakeholder engagement across traditional and digital channels.

It also produced the Insights weekly B2B newsletter and managed the agency’s Press Office, corporate social media and website.

The Ministerial and Parliamentary Services team was responsible for the development and delivery of a broad suite of materials designed to support ministers, government representatives and the Destination NSW executive team in their engagements with Parliament and other key stakeholders.

The Visitor Economy Policy team led engagement across all levels of government, leading submissions and corporate responses to relevant consultation processes, representing NSW Government on visitor economy issues in external engagements and coordinating the quarterly local government working groups in Greater Sydney.

Pictured: Minister Steve Kamper attends Vivid Sydney First Light ceremony.

Highlights

  • Enhanced the role of its corporate website as the central platform for communicating the agency’s brand, values and services.
  • The weekly Insights eDM reached approximately 4,500 government and industry subscribers with the latest visitor economy news and data.
  • Grew the agency’s corporate LinkedIn account to more than
    38,000 followers, with consistent updates on major events,
    campaigns and initiatives shaping the NSW visitor economy.
  • The team’s advocacy resulted in its recommendations being
    included in final reports such as the Australian Parliament
    Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts Inquiry into the challenges and opportunities within the Australian live music industry.
  • Meeting briefs and speaking notes were prepared for senior executives and the Minister for Jobs and Tourism for various events, including the Tourism Minister’s Meeting and Australian Standing Committee on Tourism.
  • Contributed to the management and development of the 2024 Visitor Economy Forum (VEF) program by way of writing briefs for all speakers and panel members, and operations and logistics.
  • The Greater Sydney Local Government Engagement Program was delivered for a third year, improving attendance at working groups, with average participation rates of 60 per cent in the east and 90 per cent in the west. Program satisfaction increased to 80 per cent.
  • Detailed briefing notes, formal correspondence and timely
    responses were delivered to parliamentary Questions on Notice.
  • Supported the Budget Estimates process, coordinating and
    producing supplementary question responses and associated documentation for two hearings during the reporting period.

Digital corporate communications highlights

  • LinkedIn followers: 38,951 (+4774 YOY)
  • Total LinkedIn impressions: 764,913
  • Total Insights eDMs sent: 212,541
  • Insights open rate: 45.4% (+3% YOY)
  • Total corporate website users: 150,834
  • Total corporate website sessions: 289,071

Delivering high-profile media moments

During the 2024–25 financial year the team showcased the NSW
Government’s investment in major events and supported the vision of the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2030 to make NSW the premier visitor economy and events capital of the Asia-Pacific.

Among the most prominent was the TCS Sydney Marathon elevation to Abbott World Marathon Major status (announced in November by the NSW Premier and Minister for Jobs and Tourism), making it the first marathon in the Southern Hemisphere to achieve this global distinction.

On 12 September, the Minister for Jobs and Tourism launched the 2024 TCS Sydney Marathon at a media call at the Sydney Opera House, presenting race bibs to elite athletes and recording a pre-event broadcast interview promoting the NSW Government’s support for the event.

On 4 November, the Premier and Minister for Jobs and Tourism
announced the TCS Sydney Marathon had been successful in its bid to be elevated to Abbott World Marathon Major status, making it the first marathon in the Southern Hemisphere to achieve this global distinction.

Pictured: Minister Steve Kamper launched Destination NSW’s winter events calendar.

Case study: NSW Visitor Economy Forum

Destination NSW held its largest stakeholder engagement event,
the 2024 NSW Visitor Economy Forum, on 3 October at ICC Sydney.

The event brought together around 650 industry leaders, experts and stakeholders from across NSW, with post-event surveys recording a 96 per cent satisfaction rate.

Led by Corporate Affairs and Policy, the project team collaborated with colleagues across Product and Distribution Development, Regional Hub, Brand, Content and Creative Services, Partnerships, and Corporate Operations.

The program focused on the latest trends, strategies and visitor experiences to support the sector’s future growth.

The Corporate Communications team implemented a targeted
communications strategy including an eDM campaign, LinkedIn promotion, Insights articles and a dedicated website section with registration and program information.

The policy team shaped the event program to align with strategic
priorities, developed panel briefings, secured and coordinated speakers, and supported the keynote presenter to ensure consistency of messaging.

The team coordinated all operations, including day-of production, while Destination NSW teams supported with creative design, video content, contract management and site visits.

View highlights from the forum below:

Embedding sustainability

Destination NSW worked with ICC Sydney and EarthCheck to certify the forum as an EarthCheck Responsible Event.

Guests were encouraged to offset carbon emissions and bring reusable water bottles to fill at the venue’s hydration stations.

A digital application was developed for registration, program and speaker details, while digital signage and wayfinding further reduced the use of printed materials.

VEF key results

  • 650+ attendees
  • 41 speakers
  • Three keynote presentations
  • Eight panel discussions
  • 96 per cent satisfaction rating among attendees
  • 79 per cent of attendees found topics extremely or
    very relevant.

Year ahead

The Policy, Product and Engagement team will provide data-driven insights, industry expertise and practical tips to NSW businesses during the 2025–26 financial year through NSW First Program workshops, webinars and resources.

The Get Skilled Access partnership will deliver more webinars and new digital resources, while partner programs will build digital skills to help businesses improve NSW experience delivery and marketing.

Key B2B events will be delivered, including the Destination NSW
owned “Focus On” program, which aims to inform, educate and develop key international agents and tour operators enabling them to promote and sell Sydney and regional NSW to their clients and grow overnight expenditure in NSW.

A coordinated communications approach will raise awareness of
the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2035, including tailored messaging, stakeholder engagement and targeted media and digital activity to support the Strategy’s rollout and drive alignment across the sector.

The Destination NSW corporate website will move from a “maintain” phase to a “grow” phase during the 2025–26 financial year, incorporating data and learnings from its first year since launch to drive further engagement.