“Parts of Western Sydney such as Penrith, the Hills and the Hawkesbury are emerging with exciting new attractions,” said the tourism industry division of the NSW Business Chamber.
"These included a growing conference market, national sporting events and the multi-cultural arts scene in precincts such as Homebush, Parramatta and beyond.”
“For far too long, land use planning has acted as a handbrake on new tourism investment.
“We need a new planning system that prioritises tourism growth as a key objective and includes formal consultation with tourism bodies at the plan making stage as well as more flexible zoning for tourism operations.
The tourism industry creates thousands of jobs closer to where people live.
The industry division said government needed to work side by side with industry to ensure that plans for regional tourism are linked to areas with real growth potential and are backed up by a firm infrastructure commitment to support that growth.
“We are calling on the next NSW Government to establish a tourism cabinet sub-committee with key ministers to ensure whole of government decision-making on tourism as recommended in the Visitor Economy Industry Action Plan.
“The committee would comprise ministers in the tourism and major events, planning, transport, education, roads and freight, sport and recreation, local government, and small business portfolios, and consider a broad range of issues that impact on tourism and monitor progress in implementing decisions on major projects.”
