The Minns Labor Government has gutted the state’s tourism advertising budget to its lowest level since the creation of Destination NSW in 2011.
Shadow Minister for Tourism, Kevin Anderson, said the Minns Government has taken a holiday from promoting NSW.
“2026 is one of the most consequential years for tourism in NSW history with the opening of Western Sydney International Airport in October,” Mr Anderson said.
“It stands to reason that the NSW Government agency responsible for promoting the state’s tourism should be saturating domestic and international markets to bring tourists to NSW.
“Instead, at this critical time, The Minns Labor Government has slashed Destination NSW’s advertising budget to the lowest level on record, walking away from promoting the state’s must-see destinations,” Mr Anderson said.
“Cutting the funding that promotes the state’s tourism is like opening the shop door, forgetting to put any signage up, leaving the lights off and hoping customers start rolling in. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Destination NSW annual reports state that the $23m advertising budget in 2024/25 is less than half the $51m budget delivered by The Nationals in government in 2022/23.
“The only reason the NSW visitor economy is strong is because of the record budgets delivered by the previous Coalition Government,” Mr Anderson added.
“Fewer ads today mean fewer visitors tomorrow. I have deep concerns that the advertising budget has fallen off a cliff and we are yet to see the long-term impact that may have on our appeal to domestic and international tourists.
“Tourism is worth more than $55 billion to the state’s economy, and Labor are running a risky game gambling with an industry that makes up such a significant portion of our GDP.
“My message to the Premier is simple: in the words of Lara Bingle, where the bloody hell are you? While other states are rolling out the red carpet, Chris Minns is rolling it up and going home.”
