Darwin continues to establish itself as a vibrant and colourful city, with new research showing that our city’s core Night Time Economy (NTE) experienced a resurgence in 2022.
The report, titled Measuring the Australian Night Time Economy 2021-22, commissioned by the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors, uses annual analysis to measure the size of the Australian NTE, with NTE defined as economic activity occurring between 6pm and 6am.
Darwin experienced some of the highest percentage growths nationally in multiple sectors, including a 12 per cent increase in the number of establishments in the city, second only to Penrith, NSW which had a 15 per cent increase, and overperforming the national growth rate of 9 per cent.
The research also demonstrated that Darwin saw a 12 per cent growth in employment, second only to Perth, WA which had a 13 per cent increase.
Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis said he was thrilled with the results, which could be attributed to City of Darwin’s commitment to achieving social and economic benefits for the community.
“In 2020 we launched our Economic Development Strategy 2030, which aimed to establish a strong framework to capitalise on economic opportunities and ensure sustainable approaches to achieve economic and social prosperity,” Mr Vatskalis said.
“Many of the initiatives included in this strategy, including delivering the Darwin Destination Program and promoting Darwin as a great destination to live, work, study, visit and invest, contributed to our city’s strong Night Time Economy.
“This comes alongside additional activities, such as signing of a Sister City Agreement with Denpasar, Indonesia and hosting the first ever Darwin International Virtual Trade Show in 2022,” he said.
Other activities that contributed to Darwin’s impressive results include the delivery of several key hospitality workforce attraction programs by the local industry; participation in a Dili worker attraction delegation in 2022; and supporting the development of a Larrakia Tourism Incubator Program to develop unique First Nations tourism experiences for Darwin.
The report found that Darwin’s Core NTE turnover in 2022 hit $749 million, reflecting an impressive 17 per cent growth year on year, and 10 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels, outpacing the national trend and highlighting the sector’s resurgence in Darwin.
“We work hard to ensure City of Darwin’s continued advancement and contribution to economic growth and are very proud of our thriving and entrepreneurial community,” Mr Vatskalis said.
“We are continually investing in social infrastructure and community connection and to see that our NTE has improved overall, in a year that started with pandemic restrictions, is testament to that goal,” he said.
More broadly, the report found that Australia has more core NTE businesses than ever before, increasing by 7 per cent, with the strongest growth in the Leisure and Entertainment sub-sector, and that core NTE businesses nationally generated $146 billion in sales turnover, an increase of 10 per cent.
To see a copy of the ‘Measuring the Australian Night Time Economy 2021-22’ visit
