In a sign of continuing confidence, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events, New South Wales of Australia, Stuart Aryes, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with low cost carrier Scoot, extending their three-year cooperation. Mr. Aryes was in Singapore and Malaysia earlier this week to address industry leaders with an objective to drum up trade and tourist numbers to the Sydney and the state of New South Wales.
The year 2015 saw significant growth in the Singaporean segment with 109,500 tourists arriving from the sunny island. While this is roughly the same as the previous year, the length of stay increased 20 per cent and total spending amounted to over A$220 million. Of this number, there have been an increase of tourists venturing into the hinterland such as the Hunter Valley and Blue Mountains, increasing to 69% of all Singaporean arrivals. This has made Singapore, Sydney’s sixth largest market, trailing behind China, USA, New Zealand and the UK.
Scoot CEO Campbell Wilson and Minister Aryes signed the MOU to extend the existing contract by a further two years. The two sides will work closely to promote coming campaigns such as Vivid Sydney, as well as a slew of music events and inaugural sporting events. In 2016, Sydney will host the NCAA American football college playoffs and American college basketball tournament opening rounds, each outside of their home country for the first time.
The arts scene will be invigorated by exhibits from the National Gallery of Scotland that has never before been out of the country, and by displays of Picassos and Monet that will be away from the continent for the first time. Gourmands will be excited to know of an thriving dining locations sprouting up on the edges of the Central Business District that is drawing crowds and bringing much life to the area.
Scoot will launch daily flights to the Australian city and introduce new features such as on board wifi. With all these competitive offerings as well as a favourable exchange rate, Scoot and the Government of NSW expect to see continued success in the partnership.
