Sydney and New South Wales Adding U.S. Visitors

by James Ruggia
Last updated: 5:37 PM ET, Tue September 2, 2014

PHOTO: Opening MLB's 2014 season in Sydney was a big success for New South Wales. (courtesy Destination New South Wales)

On her recent visit to New York, Destination New South Wales (DNSW) CEO Sandra Chipchase was still feeding off the energy of this year's successful Vivid Sydney, which lit the city's monuments in the most imaginative ways from May 23 to June 9.

"It's a wonderful event, a celebration of music, light and ideas," said Chipchase. One of the festival's themes is Vivid Ideas, which included 15 events with 12 keynote talks from globally recognized figures in different fields. "Over the six years of its existence, the festival has morphed from a local celebration to an international one. We sold 19,000 Vivid Sydney packages to foreigners, 9,000 to the China market alone."

New South Wales and its capital are doing quite well overall. The addition of more than 700,000 Chinese visitors is certainly helping. According to Chipchase the U.S. travel market is also quite healthy. U.S. visitation to New South Wales is up 6.6 percent to 308,600. She believes that the opening series of the 2014 Major League Baseball season, which was held in Sydney this past March 22 and 23 between the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks contributed. "We might bring it back in 2018, it was a smash with locals and we got many American attendees also."

PHOTO: The indefatigable Sandra Chipchaseof Destination New South Wales says her state's tourism is having a great year. (courtesy Vivid Sydney)

Vivid ideas have been reshaping the face of Sydney it seems since the city began preparing itself for the 2000 Summer Olympics. The $6 billion Barangaroo development is transforming the area between Circular Quay and Darling Harbor with a new financial and commercial center as well as a $1.3 billion Crown Hotel and Casino [www.crownresortsltd.com], due in late 2019 and a new Convention and Exhibition Center due in 2016. The casino is being developed by James Packer, the chairman of Crown Resorts. Packer has been a major player in Macau and the Philippines with the casinos operated by the Crown Group. Crown also has a share in Sydney's Star Casino complex.

The Central Barangaroo Masterplan includes a $27 million waterfront walk and park that will connect it to the city's central business district. Sydney's waterfront promenade will run some eight miles from Wolloomoloo to the Anzac Bridge.

The city is also heavily upgrading its transit infrastructure with approval for a second airport as well as the new cruise terminal, which opened last year at White Bay, with a capacity for 170 ships per year.

"From July 1 2014 to June 30 2015 we expect to receive about 290 cruise calls," said Chipchase. Circular Quay's Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT) is receiving an ever increasing number of big ships. When it opens in a few years, the new airport will be located west of Sydney at Badgerys Creek. The airport has come in response to the crowding at Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport.

Sydney's hoping to add another iconic feature to the city's skyline with Frank Gehry's first Australian project, the University of Technology. Known locally as the "treehouse," because it employs the concept of a main trunk space for social interaction with several branches that are conducive to more individual areas. Local reports say the building will redefine the look of downtown Sydney.

Beyond Sydney

"New South Wales is a lot more than just Sydney," said Chipchase. "The state is like Australia in miniature. We've got real outback, Aboriginal experience, fly fishing, farm stays, rain forest, wildlife and more. We want to get our visitors out into the regions beyond Sydney and to achieve that we will be telling more stories about those areas. A place like Lord Howe Island, for instance, gets just 4,000 visitors per year despite its great diving, hiking and incredibly beautiful scenery."

DNSW is working with Tourism Australia within the larger national promotion of "Restaurant Australia," highlighting the country's exceptional food and wine. The Hunter Valley located just outside of Sydney was voted the 9th Best Wine Region to Visit by USA Today's 10Best Reader's Choice Awards. It was the only wine region in Australia to be recognized. Hunter Valley is home to 150 wineries, vineyards, and cellar doors along with 65 restaurants.

"The story of our food and wine remains largely untold," said Chipchase. "Around the world when people think of food and wine, Italy and France come to mind, we think we can compete for some of that business."

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