Weekend and night markets, events and festivals (such as food and wine shows, Vivid in Chatswood, Manly Jazz Festival, Northern Beaches Music Festival, Narrabeen Lakes Festival and Granny Smith Festival) attract visitors, promote the District’s lively centres, and contribute to the local economy. Centres such as Manly, Chatswood Kirribilli, Crows Nest and Dee Why also provide popular night-time destinations.
Manly also benefits from its ferry connections to the Sydney CBD. The walk and cycleway from Palm Beach to Manly will provide further tourism opportunities.
Improving public transport will give tourists and visitors access to significant natural, cultural and commercial tourist assets. Walking and cycling trails could expand tourism to destinations such as Manly, Palm Beach, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, Lane Cove River and National Park, Middle Harbour and Pittwater.
Encouraging tourism in natural areas should not be at the expense of the environment. Tourism must be culturally appropriate and respect the District’s Aboriginal and European heritage.
A comprehensive tourism strategy for the District could identify local, national and international tourism markets, and the infrastructure needed to support economic growth, including improved public transport services, and walking and cycling routes, to facilitate accessibility in key tourist corridors and to significant destinations.
Rural industries
Rural industries in the North District include a multi-use horticulture cluster, growing vegetables and fruit around Middle Dural, Galston and Arcadia. This cluster extends into The Hills Shire in the Central City District. Other rural uses such as nurseries and the equine industry feature in the corridor between Duffys Forest and Ingleside.
Nurseries – both outdoor and undercover – are the most economically productive form of agriculture in the North District, while cut-flower and stone fruit production are the other main agricultural activities. These industries are to be supported and protected throughout the District.