“If you never miss a plane, you’re spending too much time at the airport.”
George Stigler, American economist
Australia as a global tourism destination has been shaped by bold private investments that have reshaped, even created, regional areas for the world stage.
In the 1980s, developers built Australia’s first island-based airport and luxury resort (Hamilton Island) from scratch.
In the 2010s, the Shanghai-based owners of Daydream Island Resort poured $140 million into an eco-focused rebuild after cyclone damage.
Winter Sports World – the largest private tourism project in Australia right now – will deliver the next one.
Like Hamilton Island and Daydream Island before it, Australia’s first indoor snow resort will not just be the next global tourism icon but give travellers another reason to fly into Australia via the new Western Sydney International Airport.
Winter Sports World will push private-led experiential infrastructure to a new level, triggering a similar tipping point in Australia’s visitor economy.
Hamilton Island
Hamilton Island is an early example of transformative private tourism investment.
In the early 1980s, resort founder Keith Williams built a commercial airport on the island, connecting visitors to the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.
Today, the airport plays a vital role in supporting the local visitor economy, welcoming more than 500,000 travellers a year.
Hamilton Island acting chief operations officer Paul Watson said the airport has revolutionised access to the region, with up to 16 daily commercial direct flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane taking less than three hours.
Crucially, Australia’s Oatley family which now owns the island, have continued to reinvest, plowing more than $400 million into the island’s resorts, infrastructure and airport upgrades since 2003.
Those investments have paid long-term dividends: today Hamilton Island is a world-class resort hub that sustains more than 1,400 jobs and permanent island residents and anchors the Whitsundays economy.
Daydream Island Resort
The 27-acre resort near Airlie Beach had long promoted sustainability, even earning Australia’s first Ecotourism STAR certification in 2011.
After Cyclone Debbie severely damaged the island in 2017, new owners (China Capital Investment Group) invested $140 million to rebuild the resort.
It reopened in April 2019 with a fresh vision: retaining its eco-heritage while adding headline-grabbing attractions such as a new 200m coral lagoon around the resort and underwater observatory.
Queensland tourism reports note that the redeveloped Daydream Island Resort caters to families and adventure-seekers, adding variety to the Great Barrier Reef offering.
Daydream Island’s revival shows that targeted private investment can resuscitate a tired resort, preserving local jobs and capitalising on nature-based tourism trends.
New Western Sydney frontier
Winter Sports World will be an even more dramatic regional transformation for Western Sydney.
The ripple effect will actually flow beyond NSW.
Our giant snow box will catapult Australia on the world stage as the newest, most progressive tourist attraction.
It will attract new market segments of snow seekers: elite winter sports athletes,
The largest ever private tourist attraction in Western Sydney, the $700 million Winter Sports World sets new Australian benchmarks for scale, ambition, risk-reward and legacy planning.
It will feature real snow ski slopes, 3200m2 snow play area with zip lines, aerial walkways and zorb balls, ice climbing and more in perfect snow, -4 degrees C perfect snow weather and snow conditions 365 days a year.
There will be a 200-room 4-star hotel, conference and event spaces, restaurants and cafés, rooftop day spa and outdoor garden and activity areas.
Winter Sports World incorporates ESG and cultural heritage, with a solar farm, massive rainwater harvesting and EV charging to minimise footprint, as well as First Nations cultural heritage throughout the site and embedded in the operational philosophy.
Winter Sports World will be located just 15km from the new Western Sydney International Airport, a strategic location to capture domestic families and international visitors transiting through Sydney.
WSW’s impacts are projected to be massive:
Economic boost: more than 2,700+ new jobs (construction plus operation) and inject $2.5 billion into the Western Sydney economy over the first 10 years
Visitor growth: more than 1.3 million visitors annually, nearly doubling Penrith’s current tourism visitation
New experiences: while there are more than 150 indoor snow centres globally, Australia has never had a full scale indoor snow resort with ski runs, snow play area, on-site hotel and conference facilities
Implications and broader trends
Winter Sports World highlights a broader shift: Australia’s visitor economy is entering an era of private-led experiential infrastructure, with governments cataloguing a growing pipeline of tourism investments.
For example, Tourism Research Australia reported 255 tourism projects valued at $44 billion in 2019–20, spanning hotels, parks and unique attractions.
The trend favours developments that offer unique experiences and year-round appeal – think Winter Sports World, indoor waterparks, wildlife immersion attractions and cultural precincts.
When combined with large transport or urban projects like new airports, these projects can anchor entire regions – just like WSI airport, complemented by Winter Sports World, will do for Western Sydney.
The best part is, Western Sydney is hitting the global stage with an international airport in 2026, followed by a world-class international tourist attraction in 2028 right at its doorstep.
And it's only the beginning of what's in store for the region.