Images Wrong…Tourism A Lost Opportunity?
Innovative Youth Art Project – Gallery Sunshine In Melbourne’s West
May 5, 2011Ways To Calculate Individual/Group Greenhouse Emissions
May 11, 2011Jamie Packer, Australian media and casino mogul, has learnt about tourism through his business experiences in running Crown Casino, which also owns the Burswood Entertainment Complex in Perth. Crown is one of our biggest tourism destinations
Accountability For Achieving Defined Tourism Targets?
Over the past decade tourism’s share of gross domestic product has shrunk from 3.4 per cent to 2.6 per cent. And Australia’s world ranking in tourism competitiveness has dived from fourth in 2008 to 13th, a World Economic Forum report says.
Jamie believes many tourism authorities need to be more accountable for achieving defined tourist targets. He says
“Tourism was meant to be one of the biggest markets for Australia…It’s a lost opportunity.”
Lack Of Investment In Australian Facilities
Geoff Dixon, chairman of Tourism Australia, says tourism has gone through a tough decade.
“There was a lot more competition and a lack of sufficient investment in Australian facilities.”
We’re Kidding Ourselves
The business view is that we kid ourselves about what we have to offer tourists and the Great Barrier Reef is an example of a destination that needed investment to bring it back to world class.
“The Barrier Reef experience for a well-travelled tourist is you arrive in Cairns, where the beach is unfortunately a mudflat, you go out to the reef on a hydrofoil that looks like it needs some money spent on it, you dive into the water and where the pontoon is located the reef looks like it is dying.
You come back up and you are meant to say ‘Isn’t this amazing?’ It could be an amazing, world-class experience but we need to get our act together..
Accountability For Marketing Funds
Jamie has called on state and federal governments to be more accountable for the $500 million of taxpayers’ money they give tourism bodies to market Australia.
He says the many local, state and federal tourism bodies should be run with measurable benchmarks and the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) should examine better ways to attract international tourism.
Frustration At Pitch To Overseas Visitors
The business perception is that the continued use of kangaroos and the outback in advertisements is tired and outdated and targets the backpacker market.
He says the high dollar was making Australia more expensive for international tourists, and places such as Singapore and Macau spend more on tourism marketing.
“With the dollar trading near $US1.10, targeting backpackers is making the country uncompetitive…
Instead Australia should be marketing itself to the more affluent middle-class Asian market..
Most people want to spend time in the cities, not look at our natural resources..
I have spent a lot of time in WA and outback Australia and I love these places. But the reality is that places like Bungle Bungles and Arnhem Land can only support and accommodate a small number of visitors. The majority of tourists want to go to man-made attractions, not the outback..”
The Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson, said the federal government would
”continue to work with industry to make Australia’s $34 billion industry even more competitive”.
What do our academics say about this market research I wonder?
5 Comments
I agree with Packer, although he has a vested interest, Australia is ignoring our most important region, Asia. Why? Because Tourism Australia seems burdened with promoting an image of Australia to an audience i.e. Anglo world and lesser extent Europe, that fits political and administrative leaders’ cultural views.
For some reason TA are still very keen on the US market despite the fact that relatively few US citizens travel overseas and Australia is considered expensive now because of the high dollar.
It will be interesting to see if the Oprah effect drives US tourists to our shores or whether other factors will work against the great promo we received from the show.
I think it is about time that Tourism Australia and all the State Tourism Boards, start to consider the huge amount of money that accessible tourism brings to the Australia Economy. It’s substantial, yet the ABS does not see fit to include this section of the tourism market in their tourism monthly statistics. Take a look at these numbers:
The case is clear:
Some 88% of people with disability take a holiday each year which accounts for some 8.2 million overnight trips.
The average travel group size for people with a disability is 2.8 people for a domestic overnight trip and 3.4 for a day trip.
There is a myth that the inclusive tourism market does not spend because of economic circumstance.
People with a disability travel on a level comparable with the general population for domestic overnight and day trips.
The total tourism expenditure attributable to people with disability is $8bn per year or 11% of overall tourism expenditure.
Perhaps Mr. Packer could ‘have a go’ at Tourism Australia for failing to recognise this market.
Sheila King
Is there one Q, NSW or Victorian, Rural Region out there with Business, Local Government, Political and Community Leaders that seriously would like to attract between 500 to 5,000, special interest, affluent, long haul, long stay, big local spend, Visitors, each week to their Region. I am only asking as we are now seeking to make ready the second site to replicate the Rural Inland Discovery Resort that will do this, that we are planning to build on our first site located in the Hunter/Port Stephens Region. And by the way these long overdue, long planned, Rural Inland Discovery Resorts mandate first priority in their construction infrastructure to Aussie made goods and labour and will share each year with their surrounding region the visitor rental income, after all annual site and resort and council costs are met, as follows. 20% between two local Community Service Organisations, one run by women, and one run by men and women, 20% to the management company, and the balance to support nearby special interest rural properties and business that can enhance the 7/24 visitor experiences package for the long stay overseas and domestic visitor ? You can ring me at anytime on 0428 600120 if anything in my question is not clear or you would like answers.
Shelia King will be pleased to know we have an accommodation model that specially caters to providing comfortable access and facilities to the challenged. Thanks, Marc. Oh and by the way these Rural Inland Discovery Resorts will be GOTWS Giant Overseas Tourist Wholesale Supplier fed to assure year round custom.
On a related subject and knowing that PWF is predominately Victorian based it was disappointing for me not to receive a reply from the Victorian interests who recently advertised for applicants to fill 5 Victorian Tourism Board Vacancies. I threw my hat in the ring only to share my overseas GOTWS Visitor Supply contacts and my links with FIJET that has 2200 globally networked Tourism Journalists. I was on their World Board for 3 years. I know they would have welcomed any interesting news from downunder for them to freely globally promote any great Victorian Tourism Product. The Victorian Industry should look at convening and hosting a special two weeks visit by their Board. Remember Australia if you do nothing nothing happens. You can email me at anytime on ruralprogress@nestscape.net and see some of my own 40 year Aussie, Global and Aboriginal Tourism Development initiatives on my personal CV Site http://www.aussiestone.com. Thanks. and my regards to the fine ongoing and consistent Editorial efforts to the Founder and Chief Editor of PWF Gail Plowman. Well done Gail.P Can Fly (but only when Aussie’s take the necessary initiatives.)