TOURISM 2020 TARGETS FURTHER FROM REACH

THE tourism industry’s grasp on the lofty aspirations of Tourism Australia’s “2020 Industry Potential” is slipping, with new figures showing the sector is tracking behind the low-end target of $115 billion in overnight visitor expenditure by the end of the decade. Laid out with a fanfare former tourism minister Martin Ferguson and then Tourism Australia md Andrew Mcevoy back in 2011, the targets were rolled out with the view of doubling overnight tourism expenditure to $140 billion, positioning tourism as a key contributor to the Australian economy. A lower goal of $115 billion was issued as a more conservative estimate. Marking a significant step up from the industry’s $70 billion in expenditure in 2011, there’s no disputing that the targets were ambitious. But new figures released by Tourism Research Australia show they are further from realisation, with current figures remaining “below the lower limit of the range”. While the industry is still in the ‘growth phase’ of the overall target, the report concluded that Australia needs to “continue to strive to reach the potential target of at least $115 billion by 2020”. The 28-page report revealed that the industry’s ‘potential’ for 2013/14 is up by 5% on last year’s figures to $83.4 billion, with the average annual rate of growth of overnight visitor spend at 3.6% per annum. The growth is promising for the overall sector, but the figures fall way short of the 6% growth required to achieve the $115 billion lower end of the target. It’s also a far cry from the 9.9% growth required to hit the higher target of $140 billion. “To reach this goal, the focus must remain on supply, ensuring that investment projects continue to progress through the pipeline… Australia cannot rely on a unique experience tourism brand alone,” the report said. But while the targets may be slipping from reach, the industry is still in good shape, generating $102 billion in tourism expenditure and injecting 2.8% to Australia’s GDP in 2013/14. Ongoing growth in visitor spending from China, Singapore and New Zealand is leading the trend, with the majority of Asian markets also showing ongoing increases. Growth was also reported across all tourism sectors including international, domestic overnight and domestic day trips, while international visitor spend exceeded $30 billion for the first time. The report concluded that the outlook for tourism was “hopeful” as the global economy recovers, and predicted that the industry would “gather momentum” in 2015 as the Tourism 2020 plan moves into the next phase. State tourism bodies are doing their bit to hit the targets, and Tourism Australia has thrown its weight behind the initiative with campaigns that lure more leisure and business events travellers down under. And if TA’S latest announcements are anything to go by – including tie ups with Singapore Airlines, China Southern and Etihad – there’s certainly a lot going on to stimulate arrivals. Air China celebrated 30 years of service in Australia last month, marking the occasion with an industry event in Sydney. Air China Australia and New Zealand general manager Jie Rui heralded the 30th anniversary celebrations as a significant milestone for the airline, adding that China was Australia’s most “valuable international inbound market”. “Air China is proud to be the preferred carrier of passengers travelling from Beijing to Australia [and] with … ongoing confidence in our service, the demand continues to grow,” Rui said. Air China recently added three routes to its line up including a five times weekly direct service between Sydney and Beijing, a three times weekly service between Sydney and Shanghai, and a service between Melbourne and Beijing via Shanghai operating four times per week.