As summer begins in Australia, the peak time for travel to Sydney starts, with 15 million visitors due to holiday in the city. Aerial photographs and footages reveal clear waters, beaches, coastline, cobalt blue skies and summer fun, proving why Sydney remains one of international and domestic holidaymakers’ favourite destinations.
NSW minister for trade, tourism and major events, Stuart Ayres said, “Sydney truly dazzles during summer – hotels are busy, restaurant bookings are strong, attractions typically experience peak visitation and the calendar is full of fantastic major events including Sydney Festival, Australia Day celebrations, the HSBC Rugby Sevens, among many others.”
According to Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, summer visitors will make the most of the city’s most famous assets and attractions.
Sydney’s dining, shopping precincts and beaches top the most popular warm weather activities for holidaymakers. It is expected that 4.3 million visitors will dine out, another 2.1 million will shop in Sydney’s boutiques and shopping precincts, and 1.6 million will take a dip at one of Sydney’s world-famous beaches. More than 1.8 million visitors undertake self-drive holidays during the period, due to which, day trips have increased by 11 per cent.
International overnight visitors are likely to enjoy Sydney’s waterfront locations with 82 per cent visiting the Sydney Opera House, 75 per cent taking in the Sydney Harbour Bridge and 72 per cent stopping by Darling Harbour. Australian visitors to Sydney are expected to put a trip to Darling Harbour at the top of their itinerary with 38 per cent of visitors planning a trip to see the waterfront precinct. A further 25 per cent are expected to visit The Rocks, and 22 per cent to visit Bondi.
Getting back to nature is also a priority for holidaymakers with 424,000 heading into the bush to go bushwalking. The most popular national parks for visitors include the Blue Mountains, Kuring-gai Chase, Lane Cove and, of course, Sydney Harbour.
Destination NSW CEO, Sandra Chipchase, said, “There’s nowhere else like Sydney and NSW in Summer. Holidaymakers should plan their adventure in Sydney to make the most of this spectacular time of the year.”
