Clarion call for a creative recovery The NT government taskforce needs input from the arts sector which alone injects $74 million into the territory in order to turbocharge and invigorate our recovery from the virus crisis
ON Tuesday the Territory Government announced a new Tourism Rebound Taskforce charged with drafting a roadmap for recovering the NT’s tourism industry, which has been hard-hit by COVID-19 measures.
That’s good.
The problem is the conspicuous lack of creative and visual arts sector representation on the taskforce.
I fear this signals that the government is about to miss a huge opportunity to place arts, music and culture at the centre of the push to revitalise the Territory’s tourism sector in the post-COVID world.
Fundamentally, we need to move on from the perception that the arts are a hobby rather than an industry, and recognise that nationally they generate over $111 billion which is 5.6 per cent of our GDP.
Locally the live music sector returns $4 for every $1 invested and is worth over $74 million to the Territory economy alone. According to the Australia Council, almost half of the eight million international visitors to Australia in 2017 engaged with the arts during their stay – more than visited wineries, casinos and organised sporting events combined.
Visitors to the regional NT showed particularly high levels of engagement, with eight of ten people attending a First Nations arts activity.
Overall, arts tourists are likely to stay longer and spend more than non-arts tourists.
Capitalising on this appetite for arts tourism would benefit many industries, from hospitality to travel and accommodation services, and more.
This week a consortium of 30 arts organisations submitted a letter to the NT Government calling on it to invigorate the reopening of the Territory by showcasing our music, dance, theatre and art to the world.
Establishing the arts as the