“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
– Albert Einstein, physicist
Imagine it’s the year 2048.
Winter Sports World has been operating for 20 years.
In 2028 when it opened, “the giant Esky” was touted as the largest tourism attraction project in Australia and the biggest ever in Western Sydney.
We said at the time that Winter Sports World would transform the nation's tourism landscape with showstopping design and sheer scale.
But how successful has it been? What have been the benefits to the local and wider NSW and Australian community?
What does the regional and national tourism landscape look like?
Let’s zip into the future and find out.
Visitation
In 2048, Australia’s first indoor snow resort has just welcomed our 25th million visitor. We’ve showered them with merch gifts, upgraded their visit with a premium hotel suite, dining and day spa experiences, a behind-the-scenes tour and lots of snow of course.
There’s also been a huge party in the snow attended by international A-list celebs and sporting stars.
To crunch the numbers retrospectively, our independent specialist researchers conservatively predicted back in 2024 that 1.38 million people a year would visit Winter Sports World.
But that research only considered the permanent domestic population most likely to visit – not “likely" visitors, the 4 million tourists a year who pass through the area to the world-famous Blue Mountains, international tourists or professional athletes.
Of course, that figure has spiked further since those early years.
Our research also couldn’t predict the snowball effect of success begetting success.
It expected to almost double Penrith’s visitation – not smash it out of the water.
Our location just 12km from Australia’s newest gateway to the world, @Western Sydney International Airport, has been a huge benefit, as has our proximity to Sydney CBD (less than 60 minutes’ drive) and one of Sydney’s main arterial highways (the M4).
We’re also embedded in the 3rd largest – and fastest growing – economy in Australia, Western Sydney.
In fact, we’ve got a core group of locals who have made our cafes and outdoor spaces their regular hangouts, purchasing snow experiences for special occasions.
There’re interstate visitors who might stay with us or friends and family nearby, and our school, community and corporate groups, not to mention professional athletes who train on our slopes.
Importantly, our pre-opening predictions didn’t account for @Western Sydney International Airport opening in 2026.
Wow. An initial extra 10 million passengers a year flowing into Western Sydney made a massive impact on our local and national economy.
We’ve welcomed visitors from around the world, including high-volume markets like India, Singapore, Korea, and China.
International daytrippers pop in for an hour on organised tours for refreshments and snow play, while others stay at least one night in region for a deeper experience of Winter Sports World and the wider area.
Visitor experience
The promise of perfect snow, perfect conditions and perfect weather 365 days a year has been an alluring promise for visitors and locals seeking respite from the rising outdoor heat.
Indoors at the resort, visitors can ski on our beginner or professional slopes, snowboard, go ice climbing or enjoy themselves in the 3200sqm dedicated snow play area.
Or they can sip a hot chocolate in a café, an alcoholic beverage in the ice bar or have dinner – all overlooking the snow fields.
Whatever they choose, they tend to be reluctant to leave, preferring to stay in the consistent cool -4 degree C of Winter Sports World.
All this is possible with the state-of-the-art green technology we have continued to update during the past 20 years, and the innovative design that Winter Sports World is famous for.
Our marketing and events team continues to amaze with exciting events throughout the year, tapping into the various cultures that visit us from around the world, commemorative dates and seasons.
Of course, there’s a range of merchandise and collaborative partnerships complement every aspect of Winter Sports World.
Economic success
Winter Sports World cost $700 million to build. A massive figure to recoup.
But we have – and managed to keep prices as low as possible for visitors, especially our Western Sydney community.
We had the expected robust earnings for the first couple of years expected of a new opening.
We predicted that Winter Sports World would be a transformational economic engine for Western Sydney, injecting more than $222 million a year into the local economy and $2.5 million injected during the first decade.
It did and has continued that upward trajectory since.
We’ve never rested on our laurels though.
Each element of Winter Sports World is a separate business (the hotel, snow attractions, day spa, dining etc) operated by a specialist company that has its own resources and expertise and creative ideas on how to attract visitation, provide outstanding visitor experience and keep operating costs low.
One of the basic tenants of tourism is to ensure repeat visitation.
So, our team has rolled out a series of exciting and innovative programs and events during the past 20 years and continues to come up with fresh, out-of-the-box ideas that keep people coming back for more.
Community benefits
My original dream was to create a project for my community that would attract visitors from around the world.
It could only be a success if my Penrith and Western Sydney community could access it, financially and geographically.
I’m happy that numerous community and school group sporting programs and excursion opportunities have been arranged during the years, giving the chance to countless children and young people who would otherwise never experienced snow.
Inter-school sports competitions were established a year after opening, and we founded six WSW ski teams for various age groups the year after that.
Before Winter Sports World opened, I pledged the project would generate more than 2,720 new jobs for Penrith and be one of the major employers in the area.
Two decades down the track, one of my biggest delights has been to see the procession of WSW-branded workers going about their work, knowing that this project has helped change their lives by offering employment close to home.
Engineers and snow experts, maintenance staff, customers services legends, ski instructors, cleaning superstars, hospitality professionals, gardeners . . . the list goes on.
Western Sydney tourism landscape
Western Sydney and Penrith used to be places you drove past on the way to Sydney or the Blue Mountains.
No longer.
Having Winter Sports World and other attractions in the region has meant that areas like Penrith, Blacktown and Parramatta have been able to lasso a good proportion of those visitors off arterials like the M4 and come, stay and play in Western Sydney.
Being the first is always hard, especially with a project of the scale of Winter Sports World.
But when you pull it off and the project succeeds, the satisfaction is immense.
Winter Sports World’s mantle as the biggest new tourist attraction in Australia has been challenged several times over the years – and I’m stoked!
Our opening in 2028 to acclaim and success gave others confidence to dream big.
Another out-of-the-box idea opened in Western Sydney in 2034, followed by another in 2037. Even more are on the way.
Personally, it’s been a pleasure to be able to repay the generosity and kindness shown to me when planning and building Winter Sports World by helping entrepreneurs behind these new projects with advice and introductions.
They have had an easier, faster time after “the giant Esky” paved the way for government and investor confidence in Western Sydney, and I’m glad.
Penrith has been the “Adventure capital of NSW” for decades, with 80 natural and artificial attractions. These three large scale attractions have made that claim indisputable.
But . . . there’s always room for more titans in the ring.
What do you envisage for the future of Western Sydney?