PMC freeze and continued investment welcomed in Australia

SYDNEY - “Federal Trade Minister, Andrew Robb’s announcement at today’s Tourism Minister’s Meeting in Canberra that the Abbott Government would freeze the PMC and continue its full commitment to the Asia Marketing Fund and Tourism Industry Regional Development Fund is welcome news for the tourism industry,” ATEC Managing Director, Felicia Mariani said.

“Minister Robb has kicked off his tourism policy agenda by recognising the enormous contribution and future potential of Australia’s tourism industry as a vital part of our national economy which is recognition we have been seeking for quite some time.

“We applaud the Abbott Government’s commitment to investing in and building on the extraordinary opportunity of Australia’s tourism industry and are looking forward to helping identify further barriers to its growth.”

Ms Mariani said the value of the tourism economy was clearly identified in a report released this week by Deloitte Access Economics, which identified tourism as one of five 'super sectors' which will benefit most from Asian growth.

“Our industry is the mainstay of the Australian economy – surviving the boom-bust cycle of other industries – and we stand to gain significantly more through appropriate investment in the industry’s future growth.

“Government investment in programs like the Asia Development Fund and the Tourism Industry Regional Development Fund, help the industry step up to these growth opportunities which are ultimately of benefit to all Australians.

“With the vast majority of Australian tourism businesses being SME’s, government investment in marketing, research and infrastructure development is vital to building a desirable and sustainable export tourism product.

“In this case, ATEC believes Australia must ‘spend some to make some’ and continue to invest in building a product that is internationally competitive. This includes ensuring our visas are competitively priced and our products are of world standard, meeting the expectations of our international visitors.”

Sourced: TravelDailyNews