“By encouraging people to discover the incredible places on offer closer to home, we can support local livelihoods and ensure our tourism sector continues to thrive for generations to come.”
Stephanie Peacock, UK Tourism Minister (2026)
Australia’s tourism industry has traditionally looked outward for growth – more international arrivals, airline capacity and inbound spend.
But after years of global disruption, geopolitical uncertainty and changing travel patterns, one of the most underrated strengths in Australian tourism infrastructure is something far closer to home.
Domestic demand has shaped our thinking at Winter Sports World from the very beginning.
Yes, international visitors will absolutely come to Australia’s first indoor snow resort.
Sydney remains one of the world’s great gateway cities, @Western Sydney International Airport will sit just minutes away and globally, indoor snow attractions consistently attract tourists.
But importantly, our business case does not rely on them.
When we commissioned independent primary research from Stollznow Research, we deliberately structured the modelling around the domestic market only.
No allowance was made for:
• International tourists
• School groups
• Sporting teams
• Corporate events
• Uplift from Western Sydney International Airport
Those segments may become meaningful future demand drivers, but they’ll be a bonus, not a necessity.
Too often, large-scale tourism projects are built around optimistic assumptions layered over broad secondary datasets, international comparables and best-case growth forecasts.
Rather than borrowing overseas visitation proxies or relying on adjacent tourism data, we commissioned statistically controlled, purpose-built primary research specifically for Winter Sports World.
The research involved: • 1,500 completed surveys • Qualitative focus groups across skier and non-skier segments • Population-aligned sampling across Greater Sydney, regional NSW, southeast Queensland, Melbourne and Canberra • A ±2.5% margin of error at a 95% confidence level
Importantly, the modelling was conservative and only counted respondents who selected “Very likely” to attend – not “Likely” or “Might”.
That approach fundamentally changes the risk profile.
Stollznow Research director Neil Stollznow
As Stollznow director Neil Stollznow explained during the process: “If you include ‘Likely’, you introduce optimism. Using only ‘Very likely’ builds a defensible base.”
The findings were revealing.
One of the most surprising outcomes was just how embedded snow sports already are in Australian culture.
According to the research, around 61% of Australians have skied or snowboarded at some point in their lives.
That’s not niche participation. It’s mainstream recreational behaviour.
More importantly, Australians don’t simply try snow once and move on. The research identified strong repeat visitation patterns, particularly among east coast participants.
This reframes the conversation around Winter Sports World entirely.
We’re not trying to create demand for snow. The demand already exists.
Rather, Australia’s first indoor snow resort is removing the friction around accessibility, consistency, proximity and year-round participation.
And because the project sits within reach of one of the largest population concentrations in the country, the domestic opportunity is powerful: Western Sydney is located within an hour of more than 5 million people.
The modelling also demonstrated geographic demand extending well beyond Sydney into regional NSW, southeast Queensland, Melbourne and the ACT.
That breadth is important because resilient tourism assets are rarely dependent on one visitor stream and succeed because they align with existing behavioural patterns.
The research also tested pricing resilience using both Van Westendorp (open-ended questions) and Gabor-Granger (predefined choices) methodologies.
What emerged was relatively inelastic demand across ski lessons, open run access and snow play.
Put simply, the data showed people were willing to pay for the experience without demand collapsing at higher price points.
Again, that’s not characteristic of fragile or speculative markets but reflects an experience category people already value.
What gives me confidence is that the domestic business case stands firmly on its own, not by what the research included but what it deliberately excluded.
- International tourists
- WSI airport
- Bundled assumptions
- Inflated awareness levels
- Aggressive participation forecasting
Global tourism cycles will always fluctuate, exchange rates move, airline markets shift and geopolitical conditions change.
But Australians continue spending on experiences, recreation and lifestyle closer to home.
The strongest long-term tourism infrastructure projects are the ones built on enduring local demand first and global upside second.
International visitation then becomes an accelerator, not a dependency. A bonus, not a requirement.
That philosophy has guided Winter Sports World for more than a decade.
After more than a decade of planning, approvals, research and refinement, Winter Sports World is no longer a concept on paper.
With planning approvals secured, land in place and global operator partnerships established, the project is shovel ready.