Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Resources, Forestry and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

As we draw to the end of 2006 I want to raise this morning the government’s Tourism Forecasting Committee figures—the forecast figures for 2007 which were released last week. They show the estimates of the number of inbound and outbound visitors to Australia along with an assessment of the predicted health of domestic tourism, which was reported with mixed interpretations by the media. The headlines in the Australian read a modest ‘Tourism on the up’, while the Sydney Morning Herald was far more enthusiastic about the future with the headline, ‘Tourism to skyrocket over next decade’. Conversely, the Australian Financial Review painted a much bleaker picture with the headline, ‘Tourism body arrives at grim conclusion’.

Let us go to the facts. The truth of the matter no doubt lies somewhere in the middle of the two more polarised views, yet the differing media headlines as a collective probably accurately define the current and future state of the Australian tourism industry—one of confusion, unfortunately. The year 2006 unfortunately did not prove to be a good one for tourism operators and industry reliant businesses. The forecasting committee expects a 0.5 per cent decrease in overall visitor numbers in 2006, which is the worst result since the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak of 2003.

Arrivals coming to Australia were down on the 2005 numbers, with substantial losses from key markets such as Malaysia and Singapore but also, more significantly, from the bread-and-butter markets of Japan and New Zealand which we so heavily rely on as a nation. Things were no better for domestic tourism, which reported a very sluggish year as people, influenced by high petrol prices and a growing trend not to take as much time off each year, chose not to take a short break travelling around Australia but instead to accumulate their annual leave and perhaps head overseas instead.

Amid all this there was a period of significant uncertainty at the nation’s main tourism body, Tourism Australia, with the sudden and secretive departure of the former managing director Scott Morrison earlier this year at the minister’s behest. Notably, there has also been a lack of clear leadership from the minister, Fran Bailey, at a time of great uncertainty for the industry. When combined with everything else, is it any surprise that the media headlines give mixed messages? There is no leadership or direction at the senior levels of government in the minister’s office.

The forecasts, to be fair, did contain some good news. They indicate that, hopefully, 2007 at least will not be as bad as 2006. That is good news for industry and the people employed in it, but it is hardly great news for an industry that has such enormous potential at a time when the global tourism industry is going through a period of immense growth. The issue is: where is Australia’s share of that growth? Serious issues need to be addressed so we as a nation can ensure that this $18 billion industry, which makes up almost four per cent of our GDP and supports over 500,000 Australian jobs, does not fall short—in essence, does not fall into a holding pattern. We hope that our industry is able to adjust sooner rather than later to changing global tourism trends and shifting attitudes to domestic Australian tourism and, in doing so, evolve new ways not only to get Australians to have a holiday but also to attract to Australia more people from overseas, including from the growing markets of China and India.

I refer to a report in today’s Sydney Morning Herald which contains some alarming statistics about the tourism industry. The statistics refer not to tourism per se but to the number of hours the average Australian is working—more than 50 hours a week. Worse still, most were unhappy about it. I therefore say that, with the approach of Christmas, Australians need to start taking more time out for themselves not just to support an ailing tourism industry but for their own health and wellbeing. It may be fashionable to own the latest plasma television, but will it enrich the lives of individuals and families in the way that even a short trip to one of our great many natural beauties can?

I say in conclusion that, unfortunately, one of the results of the Howard government’s industrial legislation is to put pressure on people either to not take annual leave or to cash it out. That is not good for those families and those employers, nor is it good for the Australian domestic tourism industry. (Time expired)

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