Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events and Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres said Sydney’s hotels, restaurants, attractions and bars are gearing up for a huge weekend.

“We’re expecting to welcome 20,000 visitors to Sydney for the match, which will bring an extra $17 million into the NSW economy,” Mr Ayres said.

Qantas, Virgin Australia and Tigerair Australia have added extra services to get fans down for the big game.

Between Brisbane and Sydney, Virgin Australia has added eight additional services to help meet demand from fans travelling this weekend.

Tigerair Australia has put on additional services for Brisbane based fans to get to and from the big match on Sunday. While there are still limited seats available from Brisbane and Gold Coast to Sydney today, Tigerair has sold out on all services to Sydney from Brisbane, Gold Coast and Cairns from Thursday to Sunday.

Qantas will operate four additional flights out of Sydney to Brisbane on Monday after the game to get Broncos fans home.

The North Queensland Cowboys have organised charter flights so their fans don’t miss out. Qantas will operate an extra A330 return service direct from Townsville to Sydney and Virgin Australia has put on an extra Boeing 737 service to fly the Cowboys and their supporters down to the game and back.

Hotels are experiencing a major swell in bookings, with the city’s largest accommodation provider, AccorHotels, expecting above 95 per cent room occupancy for the weekend, with hotels at Sydney Olympic Park anticipated to be fully booked.

“This weekend is a perfect opportunity for our Queensland visitors to explore not just Sydney, but surrounding regions and towns. With integrated transport ticketing to the Grand Final, fans can stay anywhere in Sydney from Parramatta to Penrith and even the Blue Mountains and easily access ANZ Stadium on Sunday,” Mr Ayres added.

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