New South Wales has demonstrated its ability to plan and deliver major international events by hosting three of the world's largest events in recent years – the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, 2003 Rugby World Cup and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting in 2007.

In 2008, World Youth Day, the world’s largest youth celebration, was held in Sydney with 400,000 people, including 125,000 overseas pilgrims, attending the Final Mass. Sydney hosted 223,000 pilgrims, including 110,000 pilgrims from overseas. In 2010 the Lions International Convention will bring an estimated 25,000 delegates and guests to the State.

Sydney boasts impressive conference facilities, including the Sydney Conference and Exhibition Centre, which is Australia’s biggest and most successful venue for conferences, exhibitions and meetings. In 2009, the Sydney Conference and Exhibition Centre will host a number of international conferences including the World Congress of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, the World Congress of the International Industrial Relations Association, and the World Congress of the International Society for Labour and Social Security Law.

Travellers to New South Wales can choose from a large range of four and five-star hotels, motels and serviced apartments. The State has the largest number of accommodation bed spaces in Australia, and Sydney has the largest number of five-star beds of any city in Australia.

In 2008, Sydney was ranked third in the world for satisfaction with travel services and facilities in the Readers' Travel Awards 2008 by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. According to the magazine: "The city has food to rival any in the world, and is at the forefront of cutting-edge design, with chic hotels and excellent restaurants".