Tourism New South Wales (TNSW) has launched a new advertising campaign designed to encourage holidaymakers to dig beneath the surface of state capital Sydney.

Entitled ‘Sydnicity’, the campaign seeks to illustrate what the city has to offer, beyond the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

Everything from the local cuisine to fashion, culture, design and beaches has been included in the campaign, which launched in London on Monday.

“Last night’s launch signals a strong push by NSW into one of Australia’s leading tourism source markets - the UK,” explained Justine Cooper, director of marketing and communications, TNSW.

“NSW and Sydney already have the leading market share of UK visitors to Australia and the Sydney campaign aims to continue capitalising on this important tourism sector.”

UK Market

In the year to June 2010, more than 366,000 tourists from the UK visited NSW, injecting more than $592 million into the state’s economy.

NSW retains the lion’s share of all UK visitors to Australia with a market share of more than 34 per cent.

Moreover UK visitors make up more than 13 per cent of all visitors to NSW and contribute ten per cent of all international tourist expenditure in the State.

The London launch formed part of Australialive, which will showcase the country in a series of high profile events during September.

Sydneysiders

The campaign also features famous Sydneysiders - such as world surfing champion Layne Beachley, designers Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton from sass + bide and chefs Neil Perry and Matt Moran - sharing their inspiring ‘Sydney’ moments in promotional films featured online.

The launch will be followed by television, print, outdoor and online advertising over a six week period.

“Millions of Londoners will see pictures of Sydney as they travel the underground at stations such as Covent Garden, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Oxford Circus, Bond Street, Green Park and Leicester Square,” added Ms Cooper. 

For further information on visiting Sydney head over to the website.