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

I want to use this time this afternoon to make a few remarks about the state of tourism, an industry I have been a close observer of for some time now, even before I accepted responsibility as the shadow minister on behalf of the opposition. Tourism is a marvellous industry, contributing significantly to Australia’s economic prosperity. Most of us by now are familiar with the figures. For example, tourism employs over 550,000 people nationally, it contributes about four per cent to Australia’s GDP and it injects $18.8 million into our economy. It is an industry built on the fine reputation of the predominantly small to medium sized businesses that define it and that are often based in regional areas, producing a quality service.

It is in understanding the significance of the industry that I raise serious concerns this afternoon about its ailing health. Over the past year, we have seen fewer international arrivals to Australia and an increase in outward-bound travel, which is a recipe for an unhealthy sector back home. The latest overseas arrivals and departures figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier this month show a drop in short-term visitor arrivals to Australia, down 2.9 per cent in August 2006 from the same time last year. The drop continued a worrying trend. While those figures were bad enough on the surface, a more thorough analysis revealed that the problem is much worse. Real gains have been made in attracting more Chinese and Korean tourists, but that has come at a heavy loss, with a bleeding of the highly lucrative and long-term Japanese market down 10.5 per cent. The alarm bells are ringing loud and clear.

Replacing the Japanese market with the new emerging Chinese and Korean markets is not like trading apples for apples. Japanese visitors are traditionally considered high-yield tourists, since they spend more than the average visitor. Chinese and Korean tourists, conversely, are considered low-yield tourists and often travel in tightly planned tours that do not allow for the maximum possible spend dispersal amongst businesses. This was not the only worrying truth in the report.

As the international market shrinks, in contrast the figures show consistent monthly increases in resident departures for the last 12 months at an unprecedented level. From March 2004 to March 2005, the number of Australians heading overseas for their holiday rather than spending time in their own backyard increased by a massive 26 per cent. This is at a time when fewer and fewer of us are actually taking time out. As a nation we have stockpiled—and this is an incredible figure—70 million days of annual leave. It is about time that people started thinking about having a holiday back home.

The report confirmed the speculation by many within the industry that the decline in tourism health experienced over recent times was not just unfortunately a temporary downward glitch but a reflection of a serious problem. Domestic tourism has stagnated, and this has serious ramifications not just for the capital cities but perhaps more importantly for regional Australia. The domestic tourism sector makes up 70 per cent of the industry’s GDP. Industry is predicting that the tourism slump is about to plateau and may even very marginally rise, but any growth is only in comparison with its recent poorest performance period on record. It should not be forgotten that the results are well down on the general trend levels and well under par for the industry’s full potential.

The opposition has given bipartisan support to Australia’s much touted ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ campaign. It was launched in February this year, but results appear thin on the ground. Enough time has elapsed for questions now to be asked. I therefore suggest to the Minister for Small Business and Tourism that it is about time she gave an explanation. Where are the international visitors? Why aren’t Australians spending holidays in Australia? Why aren’t they taking their holidays, and what is the government going to do about it?

There have been recent reports about Korean tourists being ripped off on the Gold Coast—actually being charged to walk on our beaches. There was a Queensland state government system in place which is about accreditation with respect to proper standards of tourism providers. The Tourism Services Act must be picked up by the Australian government and spread across all states and territories so as to protect our future by making sure that unsuspecting tourists are not ripped off. Imagine reports of charges of $150 per tourist to walk on a beach on the Gold Coast. This will only further harm our international reputation and further diminish our capacity to actually attract not only low-yield tourists but also high-yield tourists. (Time expired)