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Let me start by saying I welcome opportunities such as this to meet the men and women who have helped make the tourism industry one of Australia’s most important sectors.
Your contribution to the Australian economy is immense – not only because tourism provides more than $22 billion in export earnings every year but because tourism is a big employer providing more jobs in Australia than agriculture, forestry and fishing combined.
The livelihood of 465,000 working Australians relies on tourism for their employment and to help bring security to their household budgets in this time of global economic uncertainty.
Tourism helps drives the Australian economy and its contribution to our nation's prosperity is recognised by the Rudd Labor Government.
That's why the Rudd Labor Government delivered on its election promise to elevate tourism to the Cabinet table so you have a voice in the federal economic discussions of this nation.
Tourism here in Melbourne has helped drive that economic growth with total visitor expenditure rising by 9.3 per cent to $8.8 billion.
While in Victoria as a whole, tourism adds almost $15 billion a year to the economy. This shows the incredible size of the industry outside the capital city.
In a time when rural and regional Australia is doing it tough due to drought, many towns count on tourism for their survival. I know they are grateful for tourism’s input into their communities.
One of the reasons the industry is so successful in Victoria is the hard work of Victorian businesses, such as those recently recognised at the National Tourism Awards:
- Fun for Kids won for Festival and Events;
- The Koori Heritage Trust was highly commended in Indigenous Tourism;
- Go West Tours won for Tours and/or Transport operators;
- Monreale Estate won for Hosted Accommodation;
- Crown Promenade Hotel won for Luxury accommodation;
- And Geelong Otway Tourism won for Meetings and Business Tourism – and I am pleased to be able to congratulate Roger Grant in person for his work with Geelong Otway Tourism.
I should also mention the work of the Tourism Alliance.
Your work and representation of the tourism industry is of particular interest to me as Minister for Tourism.
We share a common goal to raise the standards and professionalism of the tourism industry. One reason this is important is that a professional industry is a sustainable industry.
For this reason I am working to gain agreement from State and Territory Tourism Ministers to endorse my vision for accreditation at the Tourism Ministers Council Meeting in July.
Accreditation is essential to building a sustainable, internationally competitive tourism industry in Australia that can cope with and overcome economic fluctuations, unexpected events and new competitors.
I am well aware that Victoria is committed to tourism accreditation and that the Tourism Accreditation Board of Victoria is responsible for administering the program. I commend Victoria and other states and territories for their efforts.
Accreditation is a national tourism priority.
The Rudd Labor Government is committed to establishing a national accreditation framework. In return, we seek the industry's engagement and commitment to actually delivering outcomes that in turn will lead to business sustainability and help secure the future prosperity of tourism in Australia.
Through this productive partnership, Australia can achieve improved standards and managed consumer expectations that will add to bottom the line.
As competition is greater than ever, the greatest economic benefit is found in the high-end consumer willing to pay more to get more. In terms of marketing, it also makes sense to have a quality product that appeals to them. Accreditation makes good business sense.
When you look at the growing Chinese and Indian markets, these are also the market segments that are prepared to pay more to get more. They’ve worked hard for their leisure time and they have high expectations.
By 2016, China is expected to be our biggest tourism market. This is a prediction – it is not a given and we cannot be complacent.
That is why we must improve the standards of the tourism experience in Australia.
The Tourism Alliance recognises this as seen through your workshops, publications and media statements that show that you take the same holistic approach to tourism sustainability that I do – there is the underlying appreciation that you can’t separate “sustainability” from “resilience”.
Just as consumers will be able to compare and contrast prices against service deliverables with accreditation, so too will business owners be able to compare and contrast their own prices against the marketplace and invest or adjust prices accordingly.
Benchmarking is an important component of any accreditation system that aims to raise standards – and it goes to the heart of the issues we are confronting in tourism both with our international markets and also domestically.
While attention is often focused on the challenges Australia faces internationally we should also not forgot about the importance of domestic tourism.
It is after all the core of industry in Australia and represents 75 per cent of the tourism industry.
New consumer habits are demanding the domestic market adapt to the latest trends and are forcing the market to compete on two new levels. Firstly with cheap, easily accessible locations globally and specifically in South-East Asian and secondly at home with the latest high-definition TV and Blu-Ray video system.
In this ultra-competitive environment, it is also important that we build on our competitive advantage – those elements of the Australian experience that are uniquely Australian.
Research continues to show that more and more international travellers want a genuine Indigenous tourism experience and while indigenous tourism product has been traditionally marketed to overseas visitors I personally believe there is huge opportunity to grow the domestic indigenous tourism market.
Indigenous tourism presents the Australian community as a whole with a means through which we can help heal the wounds of the past and enrich Australia's understanding of our own cultural and heritage past – it is after all a history we should be proud of.
This is why I have directed Tourism Australia to incorporate the work of Indigenous Tourism Australia into its core activities. We can not achieve real gains with indigenous tourism unless it is a key part of our national marketing operations.
While this move will go some way towards addressing issues surrounding the marketing of indigenous tourism, supply issues also need to be tackled.
My other portfolio responsibility is Resources and Energy. These two sectors have embraced the indigenous communities and are seeing the benefits of diversifying their workforce by extending training and employment opportunities.
The Rudd Labor Government has move quickly and is committed to achieving real outcomes in improving the quality of life for indigenous Australians and I urge the tourism industry to be part of this solution.
Another area we have move swiftly on since coming into office only five months ago is business events.
I had the pleasure on Monday night to experience first hand the value and worth of business events to Australia in attending the Amway Greater China Gala Dinner.
I stood in awe of the capacity of our Tourism Australia Business Events team to host 1700 Chinese delegates in a first-class manner at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.
Over 300 staff served the guests a four-course meal over the course of just two hours while a spectacular entertainment show thrilled the crowd.
The feedback I have received from the event organisers from China is that are impressed with the Australia's capacity to deliver first-class business events experiences.
Business events are a growing and high-yield tourism sector that Australia needs to more vigorously pursue.
Last year, conference and convention visitors were up nine percent while total business visitors were up seven percent.
I have been a strong supporter of business events for some time now and this is why I have push forward to forge a three-way partnership between Government, industry and TA.
I have convened a business events working group headed up by my own department that through close industry consultation will formulate a long-term strategy for future growth.
In the laying the foundation for this growth, TA has responded quickly to my request for a greater emphasis on business events marketing and I commend the TA Business Events division for the delivery of the new TA Business Events Brand rolled out earlier this year.
TA has also responded to my calls for them to get on with its job of marketing Australia to the world.
Having been a strong critic of the former Minister, I will not be repeating the mistakes of the past in relation to TA.
The organisation operates at arm’s length from Government and I believe this is appropriate.
I will not be directing their marketing efforts – TA is staffed with professionals and has access to the best marketing and advertising talent in the world.
I expect them to find this talent and utilise it for the benefit of the Australian tourism industry.
I have formalised this new direction through a revised Statement of Expectations which stresses the importance of greater transparency and accountability.
In my view TA now has the very clear responsibility for its own media efforts, its own ability to communicate and actively promote its work to industry and ultimately it is responsible for its own success.
That is not to say that you as an industry are alone.
As the Minister for Tourism I will be here for you the industry, giving you a voice at the Cabinet table and working in partnership with you to address supply side issues.
I am unashamedly proud of the Australian tourism industry, the work you do and the benefits you bring to the Australian community.
I want you to know that I respect the work you do and I want to work with you, and with the States and Territories, to build on the successes of the past.
Thank you.