The Tourism & Transport Forum Australia will officially launch its Federal Election Manifesto calling for Australia’s political parties to support the growth of Australia’s booming visitor economy with an economic strategy that puts tourism and transport at the heart of the nation’s future economy.
TTF’s Election Manifesto will be launched with an audience of 150 of Australia’s leading tourism industry CEOs and senior executives at its premier tourism industry and policy conference, Outlook 2016, at the Crown Conference Centre in Melbourne – marking the conference’s 10th anniversary and the first time it’s been held outside Sydney.
The seven point plan calls for the following actions from the next Federal Government:
1. Reduce the Passenger Movement Charge into a genuine cost-recovery measure for passenger facilitation at Australia’s international gateways;
2. Slash visitor visa costs and application processing times to make them globally competitive;
3. Increase investment in Tourism Australia and its destination marketing campaigns to attract more high-yield international visitors;
4. Support industry in securing its future workforce and address skills challenges;
5. Develop the visitor economy infrastructure needed to support more visitors to our cities and regional and rural tourism destinations;
6. Promote investment in major public transport projects that will reduce congestion and improve liveability in our cities; and
7. Improve the visitor experience at the border through better focused customer service and adoption of new frontline technology.
“TTF’s Election Manifesto is a plan to turbo-charge our visitor economy by attracting more international visitors to Australia, encouraging them to stay longer and to return again,” said Margy Osmond, TTF CEO.
“Our seven point plan is a common sense approach to slash fees and charges which add to the cost of travelling to Australia; supports industry to secure its workforce for the future; builds the visitor infrastructure and public transport that improves the experience of visiting our cities and regions; and recognises the importance of a warmer welcome and departure experience at our international gateways.
“A Deloitte study identified tourism along with agribusiness, financial services, information technology, and international education as the key industry that will support job creation and Australia’s prosperity into the coming decades. We need to see action from Government to support tourism and transport industries to reach their full potential.
“Tourism is a super-growth industry that a smart Government will back with a dedicated economic strategy.“Already the tourism industry supports nearly one million jobs and contributes billions to the national economy – we can do even better if our political parties are willing to embrace this seven point plan to make our visitor economy one of the most competitive and attractive in the world.
“Australia has a strong global reputation as a fantastic tourism destination but we still need to do a lot more to encourage international visitors to make the long flights to our country.
“In this Federal Election, we need to be seeing specific policies that will support the goal of creating the jobs and economic wealth that will sustain our enviable quality of life.
“It’s time for all political parties with a month to go until polling day to release their comprehensive tourism and transport policies that respond to our seven point plan to turbo-charge Australia’s visitor economy.”
Tags: Tourism & transport sector launches seven point election strategy, Travel Association
