Cairns
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Welcome to the Gala Dinner of the Australia China Tourism Summit.
This event is just one piece of the Australian Government’s commitment to putting tourism at the forefront of our economic engagement with China.
It’s fitting that we meet in this newly-refurbished building.
The design for the terminal won top honours in the Australian Institute of Architects awards.
This heritage landmark is a great boost for Cairns.
I welcome, in particular, Mr Chen Yuming.
Excellency, thank you for bringing a taste of Chinese culture to Queensland.
The Year of Chinese Culture in Australia is the largest series of events of its kind in this country to date.
The link between tourism and culture is very powerful.
After all, some of today’s travellers from Guangdong have ancestors who took part in the Victorian gold rush, and stayed to make Australia their home.
Excellency, you join us in a new decade for a scheme that has done so much to bring so many of your countrymen and women to our shores.
In 1999 Australia and New Zealand had the honour of being the first western nations to be granted Approved Destination Status.
Under the scheme, residents of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong were the first to have access to group leisure travel to Australia.
Tourism Australia, meanwhile, was able to market in China.
In August 2006, all of China was included in the ADS scheme.
Tonight, I’m delighted to launch A Tourism Success Story.
This report illustrates the place of the ADS scheme in the Australia China tourism relationship.
You will find copies in your registration documents.
It tallies our achievements as well as the lessons we’ve learned over the past decade.
More importantly, perhaps, it points the way to the future.
The pillars of our approach
The ADS scheme, of course, represents just one pillar of Australia’s approach to tourism with China.
The others are:
· Dialogue
· A strategic plan
· And practical help to make the most of Australia’s most valuable tourism market.
Today’s Bilateral Tourism Dialogue is an example of partnership in action.
The Dialogue follows hot on the heels of the Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Tourism Cooperation.
The MoU aims is to encourage higher tourism flows and strengthen links between our two countries.
Tomorrow, we’ll unveil Tourism Australia’s strategic plan to make the most of our tourism relationship with China.
The plan will tackle the question – how do we increase the tourism flow while taking into account the complexities of the China travel market?
And finally, we are offering practical help on the ground.
Tonight, I’m announcing a Strategic Tourism Investment Grant – one that’s tailored for the China market.
Called Lifting Quality in the China Tourism Market this project will provide up to $1 million in grant funding aimed at boosting industry awareness of the needs of the China market including through tour guides, accreditation and the use of technology for independent travellers with an emphasis on quality.
Over the coming months, the scope of this project will be developed with input from stakeholders, including industry.
Of course, we are not celebrating an overnight success story – my department and Tourism Australia have been developing the China market for many years.
Many companies, too, have invested time and money over the years to craft the relationship we enjoy today.
One of our sponsors, the Quicksilver Group, has been part of this concerted effort.
The bigger picture
By 2020, China is expected to be the single largest contributor to Australia’s tourism market, generating as much as $6.3 billion.
Chinese travellers are going to be seeking new products, new destinations and new experiences.
So we will need the investment in Australia’s tourism product to match – ideally with some of the brands that Chinese visitors know well from home.
My colleague, Senator Sherry, is holding an investment roundtable in Sydney later this week, with a special focus on opportunities in the China market.
It’s a chance for investors to hear about the potential, and for those investors to tell us what we can do to bring that investment forward.
Our goals are ambitious and achievable.
We want to double the value from tourism receipts with a decade.
By 2020, we also want to see:
· More aircraft coming to – and through – Australia
· More rooms in our capital cities and better rooms further afield
· More online distribution – placing ourselves right where people are planning and booking their holidays
· And we want our marketing to put the consumer at the centre of everything we do.
More jobs in tourism will follow, and higher GDP too.
Australia’s tourism operators – and the investors we seek – have good reason to be optimistic.
Despite three months dominated by natural disasters at home and overseas, inbound tourism has held up.
In the year ending March 2011, the overall number of international visitors and visitor nights rose by three per cent, and spending was up four per cent.
These are robust figures in light of recent challenges.
They show that, by and large, Australia’s tourism industry has come through a turbulent few months in better shape than many had feared.
The rebound in business travel is especially welcome.
Spending by inbound business travellers has leapt by one-third.
That’s a signal to investors that high-yield visitors are looking for more hotels and other tourism infrastructure.
The outlook is positive.
The Tourism Forecasting Committee expects inbound arrivals to rise by three per cent to 6.1 million in 2011.
China is forecast to lead the way with arrivals growth revised upward from 22 per cent to 26 per cent in 2011.
And the value of tourism to our economy is forecast to increase by two per cent to $97 billion next year.
Conclusion
Over the next few days, ladies and gentlemen, we’ll hear new insights into Australia’s most valuable tourism market.
We’ll hear why “Nothing Beats Queensland” for an Australian holiday.
We’ll hear from our distinguished Chinese guests.
And we’ll hear how industry and government can work together to harness cooperation and opportunity.
Tourism, after all, offers enticing people-to-people links that build real partnerships between our two countries.
Thank you