Melbourne
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Introduction
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.
It’s my pleasure to be here today at one of Victoria’s most fascinating attractions, the Melbourne Aquarium.
For more than a decade, you have been offering a fun and informative journey through the world’s oceans.
Thousands of visitors have been learning about sharks, stingrays, turtles and countless tropical fish, to name just a few of your tenants.
And more recently, the penguins you have on display have been a popular crowd-puller.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on the arrival of your new sub-Antarctic Gentoo penguin chicks.
This facility is an ideal vantage point for people of all ages to study the biology of these magnificent creatures, and learn about the conservation issues that matter to their future.
I thank the owners and staff for the valuable contribution you make to discovery, learning and enjoyment.
T-QUAL Grants
All visitor attractions need to stay ahead of the game.
Indeed, competition for visitors is fierce with so many attractions across Australia and around the world vying for the tourist dollar.
So we need to think creatively, to innovate and invest.
Only by offering visitors compelling reasons to experience what we offer, can we be confident of growth.
And the benefits of quality attractions, like the Melbourne Aquarium, extend well beyond its doors.
Quality attractions help attract visitors to a particular city, region and even country.
This visitation has flown-on benefits to the surrounding accommodation, transport, food and beverage providers - just to name a few.
So investments in quality, investments in growth, are investments that have the potential to pay dividends many times over.
That’s why the Australian Government is investing almost $40 million in the T-QUAL Grants program.
This year, we announced $8 million in funding for 112 projects across Australia.
When you add in the dollar-for-dollar matched funding component, in effect that means at least $16 million is being invested.
All these projects have one goal in common – to lift the quality and variety of Australia’s tourism experiences.
People will keep coming back if they know there are new and improved things to see and do.
Shipwreck Cove is a great example of innovative thinking.
That is why the Australian Government has invested $100,000 in this project, nearly half the total cost.
The project uses the latest technology and conservation ideas to display these iconic species, with state-of-the-art acrylic materials and a unique water filtration system.
There are interactive features, too, such as shark-feeding, scuba-dive training and other animal encounters.
The exhibition cleverly incorporates the shark display with an element of Victoria’s shipwreck heritage.
I am sure this attraction will prove to be very popular over the fast approaching summer school holidays.
The business of tourism
It’s worth remembering that visitors spend almost $10 billion a year in Melbourne.
There are more than 100,000 businesses in Melbourne alone that rely on tourism to an extent.
Four-in-ten of those employ 20 people or fewer, so tourism is working hard for the small business sector as a whole.
Across Australia, nearly one million people earn a living, directly or indirectly, from this $34 billion industry.
The Australian Government is doing a lot of work behind the scenes, from extending the Enterprise Connect scheme to tourism nationwide, to helping firms make better use of digital marketing through the tourism e-kit.
We are working to reduce red tape, increase investment and improve skills – vital issues for our competitiveness.
One initiative, by itself, makes little difference.
But a cohesive approach can achieve a great deal more, so we have updated the National Long-Term Tourism Strategy with Tourism 2020 – the next step in helping the industry to reach its full potential.
We will only realise this if we work collaboratively with state governments and industry to take full advantage of the opportunities available for the industry in 2020.
Conclusion
If compelling visitor attractions are the objective, Shipwreck Cove more than passes muster.
I am very pleased to officially launch Shipwreck Cove, a project made possible through T-QUAL Grants.
Thank you