100 Years of Tourism New South Wales
History of Tourism New South WalesRead an overview of the History of Tourism New South Wales, from its earliest beginnings to its role in the new century. Click here to view a list of Tourism New South Wales Leaders 1946 to 2005. Welcome to 100 years of tourism in New South Wales
This website provides an historical account of New South Wales tourism industry through the eyes of the state government's tourism department. A history of tourism in New South Wales is a history of the state, of how visitors, foreign and local, have discovered and experienced the best of the state's destinations, natural and man made. This decade-by-decade account of tourism will allow you to see how Sydney and New South Wales has evolved from the 19th century colonial outpost to become a popular tourist destination known the world over. Along the way the New South Wales tourism industry has become a major contributor to the state's economy, providing eight percent of all jobs in NSW. I congratulate the local tourism industry on its growth over the last 100 years - from 5,200 international visitors in 1905 to 2.7 million in 2005*. Today Sydney continues to be gateway to Australia, attracting more than half of the country's overseas visitors. Sydney remains the perfect starting point to visit the rest of the state's extraordinary range of attractions from the Snowy Mountains high country to the north coast rainforests, from the south coast where the bush meets the beach to the outback's red sands or the food and wine delights of Central New South Wales and the Hunter. I encourage you to explore the Tourism New South Wales centenary website and along the way discover any number of wonderful places in this state to visit for your next holiday. I am sure that you will agree that there is no place like NSW and we look forward to the next 100 years.
The Hon Sandra Nori MP Executive Director's Welcome
As you have no doubt noticed, this year Tourism NSW and its predecessors have been in the business of promoting NSW for 100 years. It was in May 1905 that the then Premier determined a tourism bureau would be established as part of a new Department of Intelligence and, by July that year, it was up and running. Last year, I realised that we had a one in 100-year opportunity to celebrate the last 10 decades of tourism promotion and the amazing story of economic development to which it speaks. Tourism now generates over $20 billion for the state economy each year and has created approximately 250,000 direct and indirect jobs in NSW alone. Our celebration includes the production of a film and the commissioning of this website. We have unlocked and mined a vault of information and images more of which will be displayed in other ways to the people of NSW (and our visitors) during the coming year. Our celebrations will include an exhibition at the Museum of Sydney with the same images on display in visitor information centres across the state, the launch of a book written by a leading tourism historian, boardroom lunches and a range of seminars. We will regularly update the Calendar of Events page of this website and add new images and information as the year unfolds. We are also looking to the future. Tourism is an industry that thrives on partnerships and, with the help of our partners, we look forward to painting an optimistic vision of the travel experience and possibilities which may be on offer in another 100 years. So watch this space. And thank you for joining us in the celebration of tourism in NSW - there's no place like it.
John O'Neill |