Already it is a culture and leisure destination for Western Sydney people drawn to the many festivals, exhibitions, performances and sporting events hosted by Parramatta every year.
"The city’s long standing support of the arts and major cultural festivals has won Parramatta credibility with Sydney audiences over the years," Parramatta City Council noted in its economic development strategy document.
Major events held in Parramatta include Sydney Festival, Sydney Writers Festival in addition to Australia Day celebrations, Parramasala, the Australian Festival of South Asia Arts of Winterlight and Loy Krathong activities.
The Parramatta-based Asia Business Connection hosts Chinese New Year activities.
Council says these activities, together with urban renewal projects, such as, the upgrading of the numerous lanes in the CBD, make Parramatta more attractive to skilled people who typically demand a diversity of services, both at work and on weekends.
The strategy document says the city’s leisure and tourism products attract headlines; give Parramatta a cosmopolitan appeal which attracts skilled staff, which, in turn, attracts business; and generate business for the city’s accommodation, hospitality and retail sectors and its major venues.
An exercise in improving the amenity of the CBD and boosting business is council’s focus on upgrading laneways throughout the city centre.
Council proposes the redesign and redevelopment of laneways with retail enterprises which align closely with council’s multi-strand approach to activitation, including the support of activities, events and arts-based strategies inside the lanes.
