Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Seventy-five per cent of the Australian economy resides in the services sector—health, education, aged care, tourism, legal services and the like. Yet only 15 per cent of our nation's exports come within the service sector. These figures present an enormous opportunity for one of the fastest-growing industries in my home state of Tasmania to become our state's biggest export: tourism. The latest national tourism figures, in the most recent Tasmanian tourism snapshot, show the growth potential of this industry and support the notion that my home state and my electorate of Lyons are set to prosper.

Last year, the number of international arrivals in Australia reached a record high of 6.3 million, with an expenditure—also at an all-time high—of $30.7 billion. A total of nearly 70,000 international visitors holidayed in Tasmania, which was an eight per cent increase on the previous year. The number of nights that international visitors spent in Tasmania increased by two per cent and international visitor expenditure increased by 13 per cent to nearly $300 million.

The free trade agreement with China is opening up opportunities for Chinese people to visit Australia. In 2013, only 100 million Chinese people left China to visit another country. That is expected to increase to 200 million—not in 10 years but by 2020—and Australia's share of that market will increase accordingly, and my state of Tasmania will benefit as a result of that.