**Check against delivery
Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
It's good to see so many from the industry here today to engage in the tourism industry leadership summit.
These are times when leadership and innovation are paramount to the long-term success and growth of a sustainable Australian tourism industry.
On the matter of leadership - from the Prime Minister down, this Government is focussed on keeping safe the jobs of half a million Australians who work in this industry.
And we recognise the economic importance of the tourism industry to the nation, particularly rural and regional Australia.
There is no doubt that the industry faces challenging times.
As you all know - the global financial crisis and swine flu have taken a big toll on tourism globally over the last year.
The World Tourism Organisation expects international tourism to fall this year.
In fact they predict a fall in visitor numbers of 4 to 6 per cent.
Some markets are doing much worse than the average.
For the first 6 months of 2009:
- arrivals to the UK and Hong Kong were down nearly 15%; and
- arrivals to Japan were down a staggering 29%.
In stark contrast, arrivals to Australia in the first six months of 2009 were down by less than 2 per cent compared with last year.
Australia is one of few countries in the world that will have a softer landing and that means we have a buffer to:
- focus on improving our international competitiveness;
- focus on investment in infrastructure, skills and product development; and
- get ready to target our marketing efforts as and when growth and discretionary spending returns.
I know the industry is keen to boost international marketing now, but we have to make sure our marketing dollars count.
Tourism Australia will spend more than $90 million this year selling Australia to the world.
This is on top of a State and Territory marketing spend of nearly $400 million.
Our airlines and cruise-lines, travel groups and tourism operators spend hundreds of millions of dollars more.
And they are very motivated and experienced marketers at the front line of bringing tourists down under.
There is no doubt the continued commitment of governments and the private sector to international marketing is extremely important as we come through the global financial crisis.
It means we keep Australia top of mind in markets like the UK, USA, and Japan, as well as emerging markets like Malaysia, India and China, for when people are confident enough to start travelling again.
But now is not the time to over-stimulate - the returns are not there.
We are better off today increasing our spend on domestic marketing because the Australian economy is doing better than most others.
After all, the domestic market accounts for 75 per cent of GDP generated by tourism.
I have encouraged Tourism Australia to focus more of its efforts on the domestic market, and, until global growth returns, I will continue to do so.
The "No Leave No Life" campaign, launched just before the Easter Holiday period, has been very successful.
Tourism Australia and 94 partner organisations have now invested almost $4 million to prise 123 million days of accrued leave from the fingers of hard-working Australians.
That leave is worth around $33 billion and that money could, and should be, going into the hands of the Australian tourism industry.
I believe this campaign still has a long way to run and we need to get not only the tourism industry behind it, but Australian employers and workers at large.
$33 billion is a lot of money to be carrying on balance sheets.
By encouraging staff to take their accrued leave, employers are sensibly managing and reducing their liabilities.
And getting rid of accrued leave during the economic slowdown has probably allowed many businesses to retain their employees while they wait for things to pick up.
Looking forward - in line with our broader fiscal policy parameters to bring the Budget back into surplus - the Government will continue to ensure Australia's financial commitment to international marketing is appropriate and importantly, that it delivers value for money.
We are also going to focus on near-term stimulus measures that respond to the global financial crisis as well as pushing forward with a long-term strategy that builds the capacity of the industry.
More than 800 Australian tourism businesses have received $26 million in grants from the Export Market Development Grants Scheme over the last two years.
This scheme recognises that tourism deserves the same support as traditional exports, and this year we increased funding for the grants scheme by $50 million.
Some tourism areas in Australia have not only had to cope with the impact of the global financial crisis and swine flu, but have suffered from more localised issues.
Tropical North Queensland is a good example, suffering not only a severe drop in visitor numbers from its key market, Japan, but also the withdrawal of significant air services.
This year we have not only invested $6 million in targeted marketing for the region, but we have started to address industry restructuring aimed at freshening up the product and building the skills and infrastructure base.
Victoria is another example, hit with a double whammy through the bushfire disaster in February.
There, we have invested $5 million in targeted marketing, events and infrastructure.
More broadly, the tourism industry has been a direct beneficiary of the Government's $10 billion Economic Security Strategy and $42 billion Nation Building and Jobs Plan.
The one-off bonus payments in December and April gave Australia's tourism operators the opportunity to compete with retail for a share of the $12 billion plus injected into the economy over this period.
And the industry rallied.
A good example is the growth achieved in restaurant and catering over the last year - against the trend.
Growth in this sector - in the middle of a global financial crisis - is fantastic, and Restaurant and Catering Australia has given full credit to the Government's economic stimulus package.
That organisation estimates at least $80 million was injected into the sector from the stimulus.
The Government's stimulus also delivered more than $500 million to small business initiatives.
Ninety per cent of tourism businesses fall into that category.
They can take advantage of:
- a 50 per cent tax deduction for capital items until the end of this year;
- reduced quarterly pay-as-you-go tax instalments;
- the $46 million Business Enterprise Centre program - more than 1800 customers in the Accommodation, Cafe and Restaurant category have already benefitted from this initiative;
- moving to e-commerce through the $10 million Small Business Online initiative; and
- the Productivity Places program - nearly 5000 places have already been allocated to tourism.
The Australian Government's $42 billion Nation Building and Jobs Plan is also at the heart of our plan to invest today in the infrastructure for tomorrow's growth and prosperity.
Over the next five years, more than $26 billion is being invested in the National Land Transport Network alone.
Finally, we are investing over $1 billion across Australia through the Community Infrastructure Program.
This will build and upgrade local tourism facilities and town centres throughout Australia.
On top of these investments, we need a long-term strategy, a work plan for sustainable growth that addresses both demand and supply.
This Government is delivering such a strategy.
In June, I received the Jackson Report, addressing industry issues such as research, digital distribution, labour, skills, and product development.
It has been a valuable discussion paper to inform community and industry comment, and my Department.
I am determined to deliver a National Long-Term Tourism Strategy that increases productivity and competitiveness through a focus on issues including regulatory reform, investment, labour and skills development, infrastructure, and aviation access.
Importantly, the Strategy will include ways to improve product quality and innovation - and re-position Tourism Australia to play a more active role in industry development.
I am also consulting State and Territory governments extensively.
If we are going to move forward with a successful strategy, we need the States and Territories on the same page.
I have already told my colleagues that I will look to the Tourism Ministers' Council to be the focal point for delivering on the final Strategy.
Ladies and gentlemen, the tourism industry is a vital contributor to Australia's national prosperity.
The Australian Government will continue to help your industry through what is a very difficult period with near-term stimulus measures and appropriate marketing.
And we will deliver a long-term strategy for a robust, sustainable industry.
I look forward to working with TTF, the National Tourism Alliance, industry participants, and my State and Territory colleagues towards that goal.
Thank you.