**Check against delivery
Berrimah NT
Ladies and gentlemen,
It's a pleasure to be in Darwin to officially launch the Crocodylus Park tourism project.
Through the TQUAL Grants Program, the Australian Government has provided $100,000 toward the construction of a cantilevered viewing platform with transparent safety panels, a covered entrance walkway to the platform and an uncovered path along one bank of Crocodylus Gorge.
Visitors will get an unimpeded and safe view of the crocodile enclosure. A safe viewing space would rate highly for most visitors!
Tourism attractions like this add to the Darwin visitor's experience and encourage visitors to stay longer.
This tourism project is one of seventy across Australia, which received $8.3 million in TQUAL Grants including four here in the Northern Territory.
The Australian Government understands the importance of investment in infrastructure which supports tourism.
That is why we have invested over $7 million dollars in community infrastructure projects throughout the local region.
This includes a $3.6 million dollar investment in the Darwin City Revitalisation Project to upgrade roads, parks and public spaces in the city centre.
The benefits to tourism of that project are wide-ranging:
- It will allow the community greater access and enjoyment of public spaces.
- It will attract greater numbers of visitors to the city centre.
- It will increase trade and revitalise business and tourism in the heart of Darwin presenting opportunities for business expansion and job creation.
Through the Australian Government's Aviation White Paper, Darwin's tourism industry will get a further boost from the regional package initiative.
Foreign airlines will now be offered more capacity to major gateways where services are linked to airports, such as Darwin.
The Australian Government's support for Darwin will help to make it more accessible and a better place to visit, a better place to do business, and a better place to live.
Tourism helps drive the Darwin economy and the Northern Territory has the highest tourism share of total employment (9.5 percent) of any State or Territory.
In fact tourism provides jobs for almost half a million Australians and contributes almost 4 per cent to GDP.
It adds to the vibrancy and liveability of Australia's cities and is often the lifeblood of regional communities.
Tourism Strategy
That is why, in December last year I launched the Australian Government's National Long Term Tourism Strategy to ensure the industry is positioned for a strong and sustainable future.
The Northern Territory Government, along with other States and Territories, is directly involved in the Strategy roll out. A focus for this region is indigenous economic development and employment.
With significant investments in the resources sector coming online including Inpex in Darwin, the pressure on the tourism industry will increase as it faces more competition for workers.
The tourism industry requires a flexible, mobile, skilled, talented and productive labour force to deliver quality products and services for visitors.
These are the sorts of issues the Strategy is tackling.
Next month, Tourism Ministers' will meet in Canberra to discuss progress and results on the issues affecting the industry.
Tourism promotion
Alongside the Strategy, governments at all levels continue to invest in promoting tourism.
Last year, the combined tourism marketing budget was $537 million, including $42 million worth of investment in the Northern Territory.
The 'No Leave, No Life' campaign is a good example of the strong cooperation in marketing which exists at all levels of Government and Industry.
The aim is to separate hard-working Australians from their 123 million days of accrued leave worth $33 billion and encourage them to take a break here in Australia.
Through magazines, newspaper supplements and a TV show, tourism operators benefit from this campaign with workers taking their entitlements and seeing more of Australia.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, Australian tourism is a $40 billion industry.
Here in the Northern Territory, tourism directly employs approximately 10,000 Territorians and contributes almost $1 billion to your economy each year.
With the right strategy in place, the Australian Government is helping the tourism industry set a trajectory for future growth.
I wish you every success with your project.