06 Sep 2012
AUSTRALIA’S tourism industry is suffering from a shortage of workers, rooms and investment as it struggles to compete with its Asian rivals, a national survey by the country’s Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) revealed.
According to the TTF survey, top concerns among industry veterans include the soaring Australian dollar, which is inhibitive to outbound travel from emerging Asian markets, as well as the hike in passenger movement charge from A$47 (US$48) to A$55 as of July 1.
A lack of skilled labour was cited by a quarter of respondents as the key impediment to the country’s tourism sector. Statistics from the federal government show a current staggering 36,000 vacancies in the Australian tourism industry.
Twenty per cent identified room shortage as another major issue. According to Tourism Australia (TA), the country needs 40,000 more beds by 2020 to meet demand.
Most notably, the survey recorded a sharp 12 per cent jump in the number of respondents citing access to bank financing as one of the top three challenges, which affects the ability of local tourism operators to invest in new or refreshed products.
In response, a TA spokesperson said: “TA acknowledges that investment is vital to growing the Australian tourism industry. We have recently been given an expanded remit to play a role in investment attraction, along with facilitating and enhancing air access from key source markets. The role includes working more closely with all levels of government – including Austrade and state and territory investment agencies – to elevate tourism investment on the agenda and work towards developing a more strategic and long-term approach.”
When queried on how Australia could stay competitive, the spokesperson replied that the best strategy would be to focus on distinctive products and experiences to gain a greater share of key growth markets, particularly Asia’s rapidly emerging middle class.
Sourced: TTG Asia