New South Wales’ Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) released its latest Night-Time Economy Insights Report this week, highlighting the urgent need for the cost of doing business to ease.
The report shows two main factors contributing to NSW patrons reducing their spending over the last year: cost of living pressures, along with uncertainty around public transportation.
Comparing the last quarter of 2024 to the previous year reveals several changes.
Firstly, the number of unique visitors to an area declined by ten per cent, while repeat visits jumped by twenty-five per cent.
This shows people chose to attend venues closer to home, reducing reliance on public transport. For example, in Kings Cross Sydney, visitors from neighbouring suburbs outweighed visitors from slightly further afield – even compared with last year’s July to September quarter.
Data showed that both age and income were factors, with the 30-34 age group remaining the most active demographic when it comes to night life. All other age groups appear to have curtailed nighttime entertainment due to pressures from rent or mortgage and other financial factors.
Nighttime middle-income patrons have declined while patronage from those in the $80,000-$149,000 income group has dropped by almost three per cent in some areas.
Discretionary spending has tightened, with the average weekly food and beverage spend for the period at $184 per person and recreational spending at $114.
All areas throughout NSW have faced challenges, with the only upturn found during the Melbourne Cup and Christmas periods, in areas with a high concentration of office workers.
The data has rung alarm bells for the industry, with the quieter than normal quarter highlighting the need to both incentivise new audiences to venture out after dark, and for the cost of doing nighttime business to reduce.
Mick Gibb, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, said that while summer is usually the boom period, cost of living pressures have reduced the number of visitors coming out at night.
“We know that a key consideration for people heading out at night is the ability to get home safely and affordably. It seems that uncertainty about public transportation due to prolonged industrial action has meant people decided to stay local or stay in,” he said.
“This will only stand to make it harder for night time economy operators heading into the quieter winter months.
“There’s been great progress by industry and the NSW Government to improve the regulatory and legislative environment for night time economy businesses, but we need to continue to work together to start tackling some of the areas that impose unnecessary, excessive and burdensome costs on operators.
“Whether its exorbitant public liability insurance costs, often more than $75,000 per annum, development application and consultant fees, ongoing alcohol excise increases for spirits or user pays policing fees, night time economy businesses are stung with costs at every turn.
“New South Wales has all of the ingredients to be the global night life leader, but we need to continue addressing the challenges that make running a business after dark exceedingly costly and difficult,” Gibb stated.
The insights from this report are important for venues in assisting with setting the best pricing, creating marketing and programming strategies, and for future planning.
More information can be found at the NTIA website.
