Sports tourism is bolstering New South Wales visitor numbers after 350,000 British fans visited the state last year.
The government says new data from Tourism Research Australia shows there were 350,800 UK sports fans visiting the state in the year ending September 2025 up 6.2% year-on-year.
These visitors spent $869.4 million in NSW, up 10% on the year before and the highest on record; stadiums, hotels, pubs, restaurants and local businesses all benefitted.
In the year to September, total visitor expenditure reached a record $59.4 billion, up 7.3 per cent year on year.
Jobs and Tourism Minister Steve Kamper says a “stacked” 2025 sporting calendar for NSW looks like it will be matched this year.
SPORTS VISITOR NUMBERS
The government says federal statistics show UK visitors to NSW in August 2025 alone surpassed pre-pandemic levels with 14,240 arrivals, up from 13,070 in August 2019.
Major sporting events in NSW last year included the British and Irish Lions rugby union tour which was accompanied by 40,000 fans from June to August; government says the sold-out final match in Sydney was attended by 83,000 people with hotel occupancy levels in the city at 92.9% on August 2, the date of the game.
UK residents were also among the largest group of applicants for the Sydney Marathon which attracted 35,000 participants on August 31.
The Ashes cricket series Down Under also attracted thousands of British ‘Barmy Army’ fans although the early end to some of the games is expected to have cost Cricket Australia.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- SailGP Sydney, February 28 to March 1; a Great Britain team is expecting to consolidate back-to-back wins.
- Sydney Super Cup 2026 tournament, July to August: English FA clubs Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur will headline the tournament which is expected to inject more than $25 million into the NSW economy.
- Rugby League World Cup (men’s, women’s and wheelchair), October to November: England will be taking part in a tournament that is expected to draw more than 32,000 fans to NSW and inject over $19m into the state economy.
WHAT’S AHEAD
For the men’s Rugby Union World Cup 2027, with a lion’s share of games, Destination NSW says the tournament will inject more than $610 million into the economy.
The government says sports tourism is one of the fastest growing travel trends globally; travel group Expedia believes it now represents 10% of global tourism spending.
MORE SPORTS TOURISM NEWS: Lions tour provides economic bump for states
