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Industry CEO weighs in on stats & development
National Visitor Survey figures for the year ending September 2017 show that NSW domestic tourism continues to grow strongly, with a 7.1 percent increase in visitor nights year on year. Accomnews asked TAA CEO Carol Giuseppi to weigh in on what these positive figures mean for the accommodation industry.
Sydney saw an encouraging 14.1 percent increase in domestic visitor nights for the period, with a 7.57 percent increase in visitor nights in hotels, motels and resorts in regional New South Wales. Carol Giuseppi believes some of this can be attributed to clever investment in infrastructure.
“The International Visitor Survey figures for the year ending September 2017 showed a 9 percent growth rate in visitor nights across NSW; however, the majority of this growth was in broader accommodation categories,” Ms Giuseppi commented.“This growth has come from a significant commitment by the New South Wales Government to the visitor economy over the past six years, with $193 million invested in 2017/18. During this period we have also seen the Government commit to major infrastructure developments such as the International Convention Centre, which have positioned Sydney as a global city.”
She told Accomnews that the growth in regional visitor nights is a strong testament to the renewed focus and investment in driving visitation to regional New South Wales, with Destination NSW developing a range of regional campaigns to showcase the produce across the state. She believes that building momentum is key to increasing the potential of the visitor economy in the state.
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”15046″ align=”left”]According to the STR Global Tourist Accommodation Snapshot for the September quarter, the number of establishments in New South Wales increased by 4.8 percent, with room numbers also growing by four percent compared with the previous quarter.
“The pipeline figures for Sydney speak for themselves with 4,633 rooms approved and 3,036 under construction,” she said.“Significant openings in 2016/ 2017 included the $160 million redevelopment of the Hyatt Regency Sydney adding 222 premium guestrooms; the $500 million, 35-level, 590-room Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour; Pullman Sydney Airport with 229 luxurious rooms and the $25 million extension of PARKROYAL Parramatta adding 90 new guestrooms.”“There has also been considerable growth in the quality and variety of serviced apartment products with Mantra Sydney Airport opening 136 contemporary rooms; Skye Hotel Suites Parramatta offering 72 luxury suites, Meriton Serviced Apartments North Sydney with 218 premium suites, the recently opened Meriton Serviced Apartments Sydney Airport with 188 suites and the opening of Veriu Broadway with 64 studio suites in Ultimo.”
Ms Giuseppi added that all developments have added to the “fabric” of their location, offering various restaurants, bars, lifestyle and meeting spaces tailored to both the precinct and its target market.
“Travellers are increasingly after local, unique or bespoke experiences to fit their personality and lifestyle – and this applies equally to their choice of destination and experience, as much as where they choose to stay.“The number of boutique products has grown with The Old Clare Hotel capitalising on the heritage of the Chippendale area and becoming the catalyst for rejuvenation of the precinct; the opening of the boutique Spicers Potts Point within a beautiful 1880s-era Victorian terrace house and the transformation of the existing 1870s-era Porter House in the Sydney CB, into the 120 room Porter House Hotel, MGallery by Sofitel by the end of 2020, to name a few,” she said.“These openings are a testament to the growth in confidence in the NSW visitor economy.”
Lauren Butler is a junior journalist here at accomnews. You can reach her at any time with news, opinions and submissions.
