State and Territory tourism ministers have welcomed the strong interest shown in Tourism Australia's No Leave, No Life campaign at the Tourism Ministers' Council meeting in Perth.
Launched on March 30, the campaign is encouraging Australian workers to tap into their 123 million days of accrued leave and take an Australian holiday. Businesses will also benefit from the campaign as it will reduce the $31 billion burden of leave presently on their balance sheets.
Speaking at the Tourism Ministers' Council meeting in Perth, the Tourism Minister, Martin Ferguson AM MP, said: "I am very pleased to see more than 300 Australian employers - with more than 500,000 employees - already registered to use the No Leave, No Life program materials.
"The fact that so many Australian businesses are interested in getting behind the program and encouraging their staff to take leave and holiday in Australia is encouraging news for our $66 billion domestic tourism industry.
"I also welcome the support state governments and their state tourism organisations have provided to the campaign with initiatives which make holidaying at home easier. A notable example is Western Australia's one-click booking system for WA holidays, which makes it easier to book a holiday in this great state."
Tourism Western Australia was the first state tourism organisation to partner Tourism Australia in the No Leave, No Life program.
Western Australia's Minister for Tourism, Dr Elizabeth Constable, said: "The WA Government is a great supporter of the No Leave, No Life campaign because we know how important tourism is to our economy. Tourism creates 80,000 jobs in our State and puts more than $7 billion into our economy, $2 billion of which is spent outside of Perth.
"The "Take a West Aussie Holiday" campaign was conducted across the interstate and intrastate markets with a total cost of $385,000. Tourism WA contributed $190,000, Tourism Australia $170,000 and the product partner Discover West Holidays $25, 000," Dr Constable said.
"Tourism Western Australia will also be committing a further $150,000 towards phase two of the campaign which is expected to run later this year."
"The No Leave, No Life campaign gives people the time and information they need to explore their backyard and converting even a small proportion of our 123 million days leave into an Australian holiday will be of great benefit to our local tourism industry."
For more information on the No Leave - No Life campaign, visit www.noleavenolife.com.