The NSW Nationals in the state government have announced changes to the state’s Destination Networks to ensure the regional visitor economy is set up for continued success and receives more local resources and support.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the government was committed to growing the visitor economy of regional NSW with the right framework in place to support visitor growth, job creation, skills development, and stakeholder engagement.
“We’re proud of our track record of supporting the regional visitor economy, including the establishment of the Destination Networks, and these changes give the Networks an even stronger and more sustainable framework to support our growth targets,” Mr Toole said.
“We’re focused on ensuring this important sector has the right support and structures in place to make sure regional NSW comes back bigger and stronger than ever before.”
The government established the original six Destination Networks in 2016 following a review of regional tourism to improve regional stakeholder engagement and better support the regional NSW visitor economy. The Destination Networks are the ‘shopfront’ for Destination NSW in regional NSW and work closely with local government, tourism organisations and operators.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the regional visitor economy contributed $22.5 billion in tourism consumption and supported 99,600 direct jobs – over half the state’s visitor economy workforce.
Destination Networks play a key role in delivering the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy 2030, including the target of $25 billion in regional overnight visitor expenditure by 2030.
The government’s vision is to make NSW the premier visitor economy of the Asia Pacific and it’s critical the regional visitor economy is supported appropriately to help achieve this.
Changes to the Destination Network structure include:
- A new Destination Network for Central West NSW to increase resources for well-established visitor destinations, including Bathurst, Orange and Mudgee
- The relocation of Snowy Valley Local Government Area from Destination Riverina Murray to Destination Southern NSW
- Aligning Destination Sydney Surrounds North and Destination Sydney Surrounds South boundaries with Western Parkland City
The changes to Destination Network borders will take effect from July 1, 2022.
