Visions on Tourism in Queensland

Paul Donovan - Chairman of GC Tourism

Martin Winter - CEO GCT

Steven Ciobo - Federal Shadow Minister for Tourism

Margaret May - Federal Member

Ron Clarke - Mayor

GC Councilors - Eddie Saroff, Susie Douglas and Peter Young 

Ladies and gentlemen

 Traditional owners.

Introduction
It’s a pleasure to be here today in the company of representatives of one of the most important industries to our fine region.
The Gold Coast has been synonymous with tourism for many years.
It is said to have been a meeting place where Aboriginal tribes would come together to fish and camp near the many creeks and estuaries between the Tweed River and Moreton Bay.
 
Queensland Governor Anthony Musgrave started a trend when he built a seaside home near Southport in 1885. From then on it was the resort of choice for wealthy Brisbanites to escape the summer heat.

The train line laid down in 1899 made it more accessible and the tourism industry as we know it began to blossom from the mid 1920s.

By the 1950s, it was known throughout Australia as an almost magical centre of surf, sun and fun – understandable if you’ve ever spent a Winter in Melbourne.

Challenges
But I’m preaching to the converted here. I think you are all more interested in acknowledging and addressing the challenges today’s industry face.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan said recently that Australia had been dragged into recession by the global economy and we know unemployment is on the rise.

Late last month Access Economics predicted unemployment could climb to 8.5 per cent next year, which could mean 1 million Australians without a job.

And the Tourism and Transport Forum, an industry lobby group, has warned that up to 29,000 tourism jobs could be lost if unemployment hits 10 per cent.

They say tourism in regional and remote areas such as Uluru and far north Queensland would suffer the most.

There is no question the tourism industry will be affected by this downturn. It is already feeling the impact and I know many of you will be worried about the future.

Domestic and international visitor numbers to the region were slightly down last year.

And to top things off, the weather has frankly been terrible at key holiday times like Easter.

Well we can’t control Mother Nature but there is much we can do to not just protect but to also grow the industry.

It does help that the Gold Coast has so many stunning attractions – beautiful beaches, gorgeous hinterland, Magic Millions, theme parks, wineries and more.

Our Vision
The State Government and Tourism Queensland’s priority for this year is protecting tourism jobs.
More than 216,000 Queensland jobs indirectly depend on tourism, with around 28,500 here on the Gold Coast.

I’m pleased to say we are now acting on our $37.8 million election commitment to strengthen the State’s tourism industry.

$36 million will be spent on regionally focussed tourism marketing and product development campaigns, and $1.8 million over the next three years will deliver roadside infrastructure.

In the short term, the Gold Coast will directly benefit from:
·        more major retail campaigns to drive immediate sales to the industry;

·        increasing the marketing spend in interstate and intrastate markets to encourage people to holiday closer to home;

·        major whole-of-state campaigns such as Queensland’s Bonus Breaks, the more recent Queensland’s Hot Hits and Experiences campaign running from April to June;

·        increasing activity in two potentially lucrative international markets – New Zealand and China;

·        an increased push for visitors at major Queensland events; and

·        a commitment to supporting smaller tourism operators, not just major ones.

We are starting to see some results from our recent marketing activities:

·        The Gold Coast has performed exceptionally well in the Bonus Breaks promotion with thousands of extra room nights. Overall, we’re expecting the $1.3 million campaign to generate about $10 million in expenditure across regional Queensland.

·        January’s partnership between TQ, Blue Holidays, Virgin Blue, Gold Coast Airport and Gold Coast Tourism to promote Gold Coast holiday packages to the Sydney and Melbourne markets achieved $862,000 return on a $150,000 investment.

·        And 2008’s Too Easy campaign to attract couples from interstate, netted a strong return for the Gold Coast, with 31% of the nearly $3.5 million in sales coming to our region.

Tourism Queensland also hosted a major delegation of influential Asian travel representatives last month (April).

Last year alone, some 685,000 visitors from Asia travelled to Queensland, injecting almost $1.4 billion into the Queensland economy.

Visitors to the Gold Coast from China, Malaysia and India are significantly up which bodes well.
Another important and lucrative market for the region is the Middle East and last month (April), Tourism Queensland led its annual Queensland on Tour trade mission to the Gulf States. 

Looking ahead, local industry is sure to benefit from this year’s Tourism Futures Conference being hosted by Gold Coast Tourism, Tourism Queensland and Tourism Australia in Surfers Paradise this August.

More than 450 delegates from Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia are expected to attend.

The Tourism Futures Conference will examine the global and domestic challenges facing the industry and new ways forward on issues such as online marketing, policy development, business events, consumer research and the major challenges and opportunities related to climate change.

Another exciting event for the Gold Coast this year is Queensland’s Super GP in October.
This is a major motorsport event that offers us international exposure and economic opportunities.

I can assure you the Queensland Government remains committed to seeking out and further developing these types of opportunities for the Gold Coast.

Conclusion
In closing, I’m sure you were pleased to hear Premier Bligh’s announcement last month that Tourism Queensland will continue as it is with the full support of the Government.

TQ serves a very important role and has strong and productive links with industry.

As part of tourism reforms announced last year, we have appointed seven TQ tourism directors to the new zones.

Ms Denise Deveney has been appointed Zonal Tourism Director for the Gold Coast Zone and Hinterland.

Denise brings almost 20 years of experience in the tourism and leisure industry to the role, most recently as Regional Director for TQ – Gold Coast, Outback and Western Downs.

She will be well supported by a new Gold Coast Tourism Officer who will be appointed this month to work out of the local Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation Centre.

Thanks to those reforms, we are also establishing a central pool of funds of $1 million per year for three years.

This money will be allocated on a contestable basis to regional and local tourism organisations, local government and industry associations working cooperatively on programs that benefit the entire region as well as outstanding regional and sub-regional projects.

So I urge you to start putting your heads together to come up with innovative ideas for when that funding becomes available.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.