News
Tasmania Tourism Promotion Going Backwards
Posted on Friday, 12 June 2009 | Permalink
The Tourism Industry says Tasmania is the only State where tourism marketing is going backwards and that this will inevitably have a negative impact on our competitive position.
Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania Chief Executive Daniel Hanna said today’s State Budget showed that over the next three years tourism’s budget would lose close to $10 million.
“This is crisis time for the tourism industry. Tasmania is getting outspent and out muscled by our competitors interstate and in the region,” Mr Hanna said.
“The TICT argued that money saved by selling Tasmania’s Temptations needed to go back into marketing Tasmania as a destination to reverse a downward trend in funding,” Mr Hanna said.
“We know from our own research that an increase in destination marketing has a direct positive impact on visitor numbers and on jobs in the tourism industry.
“While the Budget Forward Estimates show that the Tasmanian tourism marketing budget is going backwards, other States are directing more money to win a bigger share of the domestic tourism market,” Mr Hanna said.
“This is a big disappointment and a missed opportunity. The TICT had been calling on the State Government to put an extra $6 million a year into marketing to promote Tasmania in our core markets of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland to protect jobs during the economic downturn,” Mr Hanna said.
“South Australia has just announced $12 million in additional funding over four years for a direct, consumer-focused tourism marketing campaign within Australia.
“Western Australia is increasing overall tourism funding by $2.9 million per annum and the Northern Territory increased their marketing budget by $9.3 million over the next two years,” he said.
Mr Hanna said the State Budget documents confirmed that the next two years would be tough.
“This is when we need to invest to offset the downturn in domestic and global travel caused by the global financial crisis,” Mr Hanna said.
Mr Hanna said the TICT would convene a special board meeting in Hobart next Tuesday to consider the implications of the tourism marketing budget cut.
