The growing success of the Sydney Royal Easter Show as a drawcard for international tourists is a great example of using a unique experience to differentiate Australia as a destination, according to national industry body, Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF).
TTF Chief Executive John Lee said the Show is an iconic event.
“The Sydney Royal Easter Show is an event dear to the heart of millions of Australians and it’s great to see it has increasing international appeal as well,” Lee said.
“The number of people coming to Sydney to attend this quintessentially Australian event has grown strongly over recent years, attracting increasing numbers of international visitors. So far 19,000 tickets have been committed to the market in Asia for this year’s Show, up 271 per cent on 2010.
“It’s also growing in popularity among Australians of different backgrounds and attracting new audiences, with first-time attendees increasing significantly to 13 per cent of the total audience 2011.
“Events like the Sydney Royal Easter Show can be used to help position Sydney and Australia as a unique destination with an extraordinary range of authentic activities, attractions and events on offer to visitors from both interstate and overseas.
“The interest shown by non-English speaking media from Sydney and overseas is another terrific indication of the breadth of appeal the Show has to people at home and abroad.”
Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) chief executive Michael T Kenny said the Show attracts much more than 13,000 animals, 29,000 competitive entries, hundreds of farmers and 900,000 attendees.
“The Show injects $500 million in the NSW economy each year. Included in this is $19 million which can be attributed to interstate and international visitors and in 2012 we’re well on track to reaching our target of $24.5 million,” said Kenny.
“The Show is part of the fabric of NSW and generates significant community pride in both regional NSW and metropolitan Sydney. It showcases Australian culture, along with the heritage and tradition of Australian country life. It truly is the perfect event for overseas visitors to ‘get to know’ Australia in a limited time.”
