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Plans by the Labor party to restore tourism to the heart of Australia’s economy, recognising its importance as a super-growth sector, have been welcomed by a range of industry bodies including Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA), the Australian Chamber – Tourism and the Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA).

Announced today, Labor’s pre Federal election Plan for Tourism showcases one of the most comprehensive tourism policy ever taken to an election and will deliver record investment to unlock the potential of the industry.

Acknowledging that tourism contributes $100 billion annually to Australia’s GDP and employs almost one million people, underpinning the local economy of towns and cities across the nation, the Plan for Tourism includes restoring tourism’s standing as a key economic portfolio by realigning the tourism portfolio within a newly configured Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Cities and Tourism.

It also commits to what it calls “genuine consultation” between government and industry that will be at the heart of ongoing policy development through improving the Tourism Access Working Group and delivering a Tourism 2030 strategy.

Labor’s plan builds on a number of long standing commitments including the allocation of $1 billion from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to a Northern Australia Tourism Infrastructure Fund, investing in Kakadu National Park, rejuvenating Great Keppel Island and delivering critical investment in key projects along the Shipwreck Coast as well as the Great Ocean Road.

Labor’s additional tourism commitments include:

• Investing $120 million in key Tasmanian tourism projects to manage growing visitor numbers and unlock future jobs growth, as well as the state’s potential, as a world-class destination for domestic and international tourists.
• Providing a $25 million boost to Tourism Australia for domestic marketing and aviation attraction.
• Establishing a First Nations Taskforce to work with tourism operators, industry, communities and other levels of government to investigate opportunities to showcase First Nations culture and history to visitors.
• Growing regional tourism by building up existing tourism offerings, creating new tourism opportunities and supporting regional aviation.
• Supporting business events by investing in research to guide additional investment, while supporting the work of the Bid Fund Program.
• Levelling the playing field so that Australia’s accommodation providers have the ability to set their own prices so that they can compete with the multinationals behind the world’s largest online booking sites.
• Investing in education and training, including $6 million for the Quality Tourism Framework to improve and diversify Australian tourism products.

The Plan for Tourism has been welcomed by Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA), the Australian Chamber - Tourism, the national peak body of Australian tourism organisations, and the Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA).

EEAA welcomed the focus on business events by both the Liberals and Labor, saying they are “small signs that we are cutting through”.

EEAA Chief Executive, Joyce DiMascio stated “we would have liked to see more take-up of the six pillars of the industry’s policy (as) with our colleagues from BECA (Business Events Council of Australia), we have campaigned on these with a united voice.

“Labor’s policy … covers key elements of our pitch (and al)though no new money has been allocated, it has identified a range of policy initiatives that the EEAA and its BECA partners … campaigned on.

“It opens the door a little wider for our sector and shows that we are slowly getting the message across about the enormous potential of our sector.”

However, EEAA said it was disappointed that no additional funding would be provided for Tourism Australia’s work in bidding for new events for Australia, despite the success of the Bid Fund launched in 2018.

DiMascio added “for the business events sector and the visitor economy to flourish, it is critical that the industry and government collaborate in the area of skills and we are pleased that under Labor there is a major focus on this area.”

The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) welcomed Labor’s focus on regional tourism development, advising in a statement “tourism drives growth, particularly in regional communities, and we are pleased to see that a Labor government’s plan for our industry has a strong focus on regionally located tourism infrastructure projects as well as a commitment to developing new experiences, aviation access and upgrades to existing iconic attractions.”

ATEC Managing Director Peter Shelley stated “Australia’s continued export tourism success is dependent upon our ability to offer a diverse and evolving product, and regional destinations are key to this evolution so government support is crucial.

“We also welcome Labor’s plans for a ‘First Nations Taskforce’ which defines a collaboration between indigenous communities, tourism and government – all vital stakeholders in the successful and sustainable development of authentic Aboriginal experiences.”

However, ATEC was critical of the lack of further investment in marketing, with Shelley adding “disappointingly, yet again, we are seeing a lack of investment in international marketing for our major marketing agency, Tourism Australia.

“Despite the announced ‘$25m boost’, this money is earmarked for domestic marketing and aviation route development which will do little to grow and expand our international market share.”

BECA said it was disappointed that neither side of politics committed to extra funding for the Bid Fund.

Click here to view the Labor Tourism Policy 2019.

Image: Labor leader Bill Shorten.

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