FED: New alliance to be formed to boost regioanl tourism

AAP General News (Australia)
04-08-2000
FED: New alliance to be formed to boost regioanl tourism

By Chris Herde

ALICE SPRINGS, April 8 AAP - A new alliance linking government and the regional tourism
industry will help boost the tourist potential of areas outside the capital cities, a
conference was told today.

Tourism Council Australia (TCA) managing director Phil Young said the major challenge
to the industry was to broaden domestic and international tourism activities in regional
areas.

He said an additional $700 million could be injected into regional Australia if the
number of visitor nights spent outside the major cities increased by only five per cent.

However, Mr Young told the annual National Regional Tourism Conference that the industry
in country areas was missing opportunities to lure domestic and international visitors.

He said a way to enhance these opportunities was to provide the right institutional environment.

"No single entity presently exists to strengthen regional tourism on a national basis
... and there needs to be an entity to tie in all existing activities and programs together,"

Mr Young said.

"A scatter gun approach will not work - we need to have a strategic plan in place to
ensure tourism potential is realised.

"The TCA will be seeking a partnership agreement to be signed between industry, Commonwealth,
state, territory and local government.

"The agreement should seek to create a single entity that has a specific focus on growing
and strengthening regional tourism."

Mr Young said the new entity would look at providing information and research to businesses,
improve infrastructure, develop best practice and marketing guidelines, stimulate product
development and develop internet capabilities for promotion.

At last year's Regional Economic Summit in Canberra, tourism was pinpointed as major
way to boost the economies in regional and rural Australia.

Regional Australia is already well served by tourism with about 60 per cent of all
visitor nights spent in Australia outside capital cities of which 70 per cent were domestic
and 30 per cent international nights.

Tourists visiting regional Australia contribute more than $14 billion to regional economies
and generate more than 600,000 jobs.

The TCA alliance initiative has the support of Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson.

Mr Anderson said it was important that regional and rural Australia be given every
chance to realise its tourist potential.

"What I think we must do is put in place a process that will ensure that jointly we
are working together in a concrete way on strategies to maximise the opportunities for
everyone," he said.

AAP ch/pjo/bdm

KEYWORD: REGIONAL

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