Tourism Australia funding has been marginally increased, which will help maintain a competitive edge as a tourism destination in the international marketplace.
Federal Budget is good news for Australia’s tourism industry, delivering a much-needed boost to the tourism export sector through investment in destination marketing and support for regional tourism development according to the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC).
Tourism Australia funding has been marginally increased, which will help maintain a competitive edge as a tourism destination in the international marketplace, and $45m in funding for regional tourism businesses will support the industry to continue to deliver a high quality and diverse visitor experience into the future.
“ATEC is pleased to see the Government has listened to the calls from the industry to support the continued success of tourism exports through investment,” ATEC Managing Director, Peter Shelley said.
“In the past 10 years tourism exports have become one of Australia’s most successful income earners, and ATEC has been urging the Government to recognise that greater tourism investment is needed to meet the forecast demand.
“Our industry faces many challenges, challenges which are the result of our staggering rate of growth that has tourism exports increasing by more than 6% a year. We must build an industry that can not only meet the demand of today, but have a sound strategy for the future and this budget will help us achieve that goal.”
Mr Shelley said investment in regional Australia through the Building Better Regions Fund, transitioning Avalon to an international gateway and money to look at access issues for Sydney’s cruise ships would be welcomed by tourism businesses.
“Capacity building and regional dispersal are real issues for Australia’s tourism industry, and a focus on improving the ability of regional tourism businesses to connect with international tourists is an important strategy for tourism’s future.
“Committing to important industry programs like the Approved Destination Status (ADS) program to support a high quality service for the Chinese market, along with industry development grants like the Export Marketing Development Grant (EMDG) will allow us to continue to improve and grow our industry.
“In a growing global tourism environment, visa pricing and processing play an important role in a visitor’s choice of destination. Today’s continuation of indexation applied to visa applications will have a cumulative effect on our competitiveness if continued forward.
“This budget commitment reveals the true strength of our industry and I congratulate the Government on investing in not only in the tourism industry but in it’s contribution to Australia’s positive economic outcomes.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
