The Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP and the Member for Lyons, Dick Adams MP, have congratulated tourism businesses on the Freycinet Peninsula for achieving one of the highest satisfaction ratings from visitors compared with other selected destinations across Australia.
The Visitor Profile and Satisfaction Report from Tourism Research Australia put Freycinet Peninsula in the top ten (third) out of 62 destinations across Australia for visitor satisfaction. The reports are being progressively rolled out across Australia. In a survey conducted in August 2006 and January 2007, 70 per cent of visitors to Freycinet Peninsula said they were very satisfied with their visit.
The research stated visitors were particularly impressed by the friendly, helpful and hospitable staff and friendly locals. They were happy with Freycinet Peninsula's tourism information services, shopping, food and wine, hotels and motels, roads and tours.
Minister Ferguson said, "Through the Australian Government's National Long-Term Tourism Strategy we are going to continue our marketing campaigns and also work with industry and state and territory governments on supply side issues to deliver even better visitor satisfaction results. That means focussing on product quality and accreditation, building a skilled and innovative workforce, investing in infrastructure, and making the most of our natural competitive advantages such as our landscapes and indigenous and cultural heritage."
Mr Adams said, "Customer satisfaction is at the heart of a successful tourism destination. For many regional communities such as Freycinet Peninsula, tourism is vital to the local economy. For tourism to succeed it needs not only good service but good local facilities. Last year the Australian Government provided more than $100,000 directly to Freycinet Peninsula for local community infrastructure including public facilities for tourists."
Minister Ferguson said, "Australians need to be reminded of the beauty of an Australian holiday especially with long weekends coming up. Tourism Australia and the Australian Government's "No Leave No Life" campaign encourages Australians to use their 123 million days of accumulated annual leave worth $33 billion and take a break at home. For Freycinet Peninsula that could mean visiting Wineglass Bay, one of the top ten beaches in the world, rock climbing on the granite mountains or taking a walk through the beautiful Freycinet National Park."
"Tourism is dominated by small businesses - that is why, as part of the economic stimulus, the Australian Government invested more than $500 million in small business incentives and support to help the 93 per cent of tourism businesses in this category."
The Visitor Profile and Satisfaction (VPS) Program is a part of the Destination Visitor Survey Program (DVS) run by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. Since 2006 about 70 VPS projects have been completed in Australian regional tourist destinations.
The Visitor Profile and Satisfaction Reports can be obtained at http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/tra/regional/destinations/Pages/default.aspx.