Cairns
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Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank the Queensland Tourism Industry Recovery Group for all your hard work.
You have helped the industry to find its footing once again after the flooding and the cyclone damage.
The response has been a truly national effort, with backing from every level of government in Australia.
I want to hear from you directly about what worked well, what didn’t work so well, and how we can respond even better to setbacks yet to come.
The importance of recovery
Tourism, of course, is vital to the Queensland economy.
The jobs and livelihoods of so many Queenslanders depend on getting the message out that the Sunshine State is open for business.
That’s why the Australian Government, in partnership with the Queensland Government, invested $12 million in the Tourism Industry Support Package.
Many of you have seen the eye-catching “Nothing Beats Queensland” TV commercials.
They were just part of a multi-faceted campaign spanning print, radio and online media.
200 media came from more than 20 countries – one of the largest media familiarisations in Australian history.
They have seen for themselves that our major gateways offer every bit as good a tourism experience as they did before the floods and Cyclone Yasi.
The Support Package includes industry development
The measures to offer business advisory services through Enterprise Connect- was breaking new ground for Queensland tourism businesses.
Industry recovery workshops have also been giving businesses the tools to respond to disasters.
We have also seen the very popular Servicing the China Market workshops.
TravConsult has been urging Queensland tourism operators to lead the nation in being “China-ready”.
And I’m pleased to say the feedback has been very good.
One business leader wrote to thank us for highlighting the opportunities to attract more Chinese visitors.
He said the workshops would improve Australia’s appeal in what he rightly described as “an incredibly important market for all of us”.
At the same time, tourism operators benefitted from the Commonwealth’s Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements and other measures.
These included special concessional loans of up to $650,000 for eligible businesses, primary producers and not-for-profit organisations suffering extreme damage.
There was a grant component of up to $50,000.
In addition, we have provided:
· $546,000 for Tropical North Queensland
· $100,000 for Rockhampton tourism development
· And $600,000 for Brisbane-area tourism marketing and product development.
There has also been $130 million in Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Projects in Queensland.
This covers projects such as the Townsville CBD development, as well as $40 million in smaller Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Projects.
These include, for example, the upgrade of the Cairns Esplanade and streetscape and $40 million over two years in Federal funding for the Cairns Cultural Precinct.
Additionally through Centrelink, more than 357,000 payments of the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment and more than 38,000 payments of the Disaster Income Recovery Subsidy have been made totalling $438 million.
These measures, and many more besides, add up to a very substantial commitment to Queensland’s recovery.
TQUAL Grants are another part of the strategy for growth.
For the first time, Strategic Tourism Investment Grants are available for large-scale projects that will benefit the tourism industry by addressing key priorities such as Indigenous tourism and tourism employment.
We welcome project suggestions for potential projects from across the industry, governments and the community.
Simply complete the project suggestion form online at any time.
It’s available on my Department's website.
Diversifying industry
Finally, I want to stress the value of diversified economies.
Tourism brings in over $9 billion a year to Queensland.
When things go wrong, as they did at the start of the year, tourism leaves the rest of the economy exposed.
The broader the economic base, the easier it becomes to ride out the rough patches in one sector or another.
That’s why the Australian Government has begun a pilot project here in Cairns to improve labour mobility.
It’s a Fly-in Fly-out Coordinator.
This role will help to match employers in regional areas with willing workers right across North Queensland.
Its value goes beyond mining.
A more diversified economy means a stronger economy – not least for the many people who work in tourism here.
And better transport infrastructure that comes from investing in the resources sector will also go on paying dividends for the tourism industry for many years to come.
Conclusion
In closing, I thank all of you for helping Queensland’s tourism industry to find its stride once more.
Throughout it all, the Australian and Queensland Governments have stood by Queensland’s tourism industry.
Your feedback is very welcome.
Help us to make these great team efforts even more effective.
Thank you