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Ladies and gentlemen,
It's a pleasure to be here in Alice Springs to launch the Red Centre Way regional tourism project and fulfil our 2007 election commitment.
Today I am announcing tourism funding from the Rudd Government towards the development of Australia's Red Centre Way.
Over 440,000 visitors come to this region every year to experience unique Australian places like Uluru and the Kata Tjuta National Park, the Alice Springs Desert Park and the Larapinta Trail.
Indeed many visitors enjoy the drive along the Red Centre Way from Alice Springs to Uluru.
The Rudd Government's $500,000 commitment for this project is an investment in local jobs and the local economy, of which tourism is such an important part.
The funding will provide valuable infrastructure including:
- Welcome facilities and a gate way entry sign at John Flynn's Grave Historical Reserve (an important roadside stop for visitors travelling west from Alice Springs) and on Lasseter Highway, 4kms east of the Yulara Airport
- Orientation signs at the intersection of Luritja and Lasseter Roads and;
- Installation of interpretive information at the Yulara Visitor Centre.
The Red Centre Way is Australia's first National Landscape.
There are nine Landscapes in all - iconic destinations, steeped in indigenous heritage and rugged natural beauty.
National Landscapes bring all levels of Government together to identify commercial opportunities and infrastructure gaps.
They encourage employment for indigenous people who bring unique skills to the tourism industry and greater participation will help to 'close the gap' of disadvantage.
Tourism Strategy
In December last year I launched the National Long Term Tourism Strategy and Joanne Harkin is here today representing Maree Tetlow.
Maree is not only the CEO of Tourism NT, she is the Chair of two of the groups working to implement the Strategy- focusing on Labour and Skills and Destination Planning.
The skills issue is a priority.
You would have seen reports of the return of consumer confidence and therefore the return of people travelling. This is a positive sign but leaves us with some challenges.
With significant investments in the resources sector coming online including Inpex in Darwin, the pressure on the tourism industry will increase as workers seek high paid positions in the resources industry.
The tourism industry requires a flexible, mobile and productive labour force.
Often the regulations of state and territory governments reduce the workforce mobility and the take up of training opportunities.
These are the sorts of issues the Labour and Skills working Group is being asked to consider.
Next month, the Group will be reporting to the Tourism Ministers' Council meeting in Canberra.
While a focus on skills is critical, we also need to maintain our presence in the market.
Regions such as this have done an excellent job of marketing the destination for tourism.
I know you have worked closely with the Northern Territory Tourism Commission and Tourism Australia.
I appreciate your support for the domestic "No Leave No Life Campaign"
Working with the private sector, the campaign has been using magazines, newspaper supplements and a reality TV show.
In fact, one of the magazines came out within The Australian on Tuesday this week.
The publicity is already separating hard-working Australians from their pot of 123 million days of accrued leave worth $33 billion in wages.
Tourism Australia will launch its new marketing campaign in the coming weeks. I urge you to leverage your marketing budgets with theirs to help market this region.
Investment
Finally I am pleased that the Northern Territory was successful with 4 of its tourism projects in the TQUAL Grants Program.
The $400,000 investment by the Australian Government towards tourism projects in NT will help bring new product online and support investment in existing businesses.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, Australian tourism is a $40 billion industry.
Here in the Northern Territory, tourism directly employs more than 10,000 people and contributes almost $1 billion to the Territory's economy annually.
With the right strategy in place, the Australian Government is supporting the livelihoods of hard-working Australians who make up the tourism industry.
We are enabling the industry to be economically-vibrant, sustainable, and more capable of meeting competitive challenges into the future.
Thank you