Australian Government urged to Focus More on Regions
The Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania has urged both Federal and State Governments to concentrate their resources on core policies to counter growing obstacles to travel. TICT Chief Executive Officer Daniel Hanna said today the industry welcomed the interest being shown in the region by the Federal Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism the Hon Martin Ferguson MP, who was in Hobart today to meet with 45 tourism industry leaders.
“The Rudd Government started out on the right foot by keeping its election promise to increase the standard Bass Strait passenger vehicle rebate from $150 to $180 and then by CPI each year which is very important to the Tasmanian tourism industry and the State’s economy,” Mr Hanna said.
“We’ve taken the opportunity of Mr Ferguson’s visit to reinforce the importance of tourism to regional economies such as Tasmania’s and to urge the Australian Government to work closely with us to address the growing challenges that the industry faces.Mr Hanna said that while Tasmanian tourism had enjoyed some strong growth in recent years it faced huge challenges in the next year as a result of high fuel prices, falling consumer confidence, higher interest rates, the strong Australia dollar, labour shortages and growing concerns among travelers about their carbon footprint.“The TICT believes that in difficult times like we are now seeing that both the Government and the industry need to refocus on core activities,” Mr Hanna said.
“One of the key roles the TICT sees for Government, both federal and state, is in delivering high quality and timely research and destination marketing. “Tough times need a keen focus on activities that deliver best bang for buck.Mr Hanna said that while the industry could always use more government resources, focusing on core activities and shifting scarce resources to the area of greatest need was the best way to tackle tough times.
“That means ensuring that Australia holds and increases it share of international visitors and domestic travel, and that regions – like Tasmania – share in the market.
Mr Hanna said that in addition to destinational marketing the Australian Government needed to play a key role in areas like researching the impact of climate change on the tourism industry and identifying ways the industry can improve its performance in this area.
“The Australian Government can also play a major role in addressing issues that are holding our industry back such as the shortage of labour by using immigration policy to allow the tourism industry to more easily supplement its existing labour pool,” Mr Hanna said.Please click on the attached document to read what the HON Martin Ferguson AM MP had to say.
