**Check against delivery
Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
The 2010 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards have been recognising and rewarding business for 25 years.
The nominees and winners, past and present are innovative, hard working and committed to the success of their business - and that's something worth celebrating.
In recent years, you've shown how resilient this industry is. You've rebounded from the impacts of SARS, the Bali bombings, and most recently - the Global Financial Crisis.
The Government's economic stimulus package and an increased focus on domestic marketing - particularly the No Leave No Life campaign - have helped deliver a better result than what may have otherwise occurred in some sectors.
International tourism to Australia has held up very well in 2009 and we've out-performed the rest of the world.
Skills and training
The Australian Government understands that without access to a well-trained and committed workforce, it is difficult to meet the demands of an increasingly discerning consumer.
Improving skills and training will give tourism operators access to a more mobile, professional workforce.
So the recently released National Long-Term Tourism Strategy placed a premium on skills and training.
We are:
- Working with Service Skills Australia to implement their Tourism and Hospitality Workforce Development Strategy
- Developing a plan that addresses labour and skills shortages in the tourism industry
- Increasing labour mobility across jurisdictions, and
- Identifying projected labour and skills shortages and planning for future demand.
Forward Planning
Better market intelligence helps the industry plan for future growth.
The right data on employment, skills and market trends allows industry to make better investment and business decisions.
It improves investor confidence and empowers tourism operators to plan and grow their business.
Tonight I am very pleased to launch the addition of tourism data to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations website called 'skills info'.
It includes:
- The state of play for tourism employment
- Industry profiles by sector
- And future trends.
I'm also pleased to launch the Regional Tourism Employment in Australia report which provides an outline of employment for tourism in key regional centres.
Tourism employs almost half a million Australians. Many of those jobs are in rural and regional areas.
An area like the Hunter Valley in NSW, for example has 11,000 people working in tourism.
The National Long Term Tourism Strategy also provides a focus on future investment in tourism - in hotels, airports and attractions.
This investment is needed. The majority of Australia's 3 and 4 star properties were built between 1965 and 1980.
The Strategy aims to remove barriers to investment and provide better information - on demographics, taxation, market trends and labour issues to give investors more confidence.
In endorsing this strategy, tourism ministers in all states have committed to engage more with other portfolios - on issues such as planning approvals, business regulation and infrastructure development.
This stronger co-operation between industry and state and territory governments is unprecedented and will help accelerate the investment we need.
Conclusion
Tonight we are building on a 25 year tradition of Awards celebrations.
Just as businesses in this room have refreshed and renewed their product, I am pleased that the Awards are undergoing their own review. This will help position this great program for the next 25 years.
I congratulate all of the nominees and winners.
Tonight, the commitment you've made to your business and this industry is being acknowledged in front of your peers - your harshest critics and your closest colleagues.
As we look to the year ahead, your continued leadership and stewardship will help to ensure a productive and prosperous future for our industry.
Thank you.