Aussies head abroad, tourism trade deficit

As more and more Australians venture overseas for holidays, Australia’s tourism is suffering a steep decline, according to Shadow Tourism Minister Bob Baldwin.

“As long as the Government continues to make Australia a more expensive and less competitive destination we will continue to see Australia’s tourism trade deficit grow,” Mr Baldwin said.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) latest figures show an increase in Australian’s travelling abroad, compared with 7.4 million trips in 2010/2011.

These numbers have doubled in the last decade.

South East Asia arrivals increased by 9 percent during April 2012, while Australia’s performance for the same month was labelled as “weak” by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

Myanmar (35 percent), Cambodia (24 percent) and the Philippines (10 percent) all experienced substantial growth and saw double-digit monthly increases for the month of April 2012.

Mr Baldwin said the Government's new carbon tax would have an impact on future international tourist arrivals.

“At a time when Australian tourism is already struggling because of the high Australian dollar the Gillard Labor Government has made a bad situation worse by introducing a series of measures that make Australia a less competitive tourism destination.”

In addition to the carbon tax, Mr Baldwin said the Passenger Movement Charge increases and a rise in airport security taxes have also had a negative effect on Australian tourism.

Sourced: etravelblackboard