Labor welcomes Tourism Research Australia’s ‘The Beach, Bush and Beyond: Understanding Regional Dispersal of Australian Tourists’ report.
Released this week, the report highlights the value of tourism for regional communities and the importance of dispersal of visitors, which creates and sustains thousands of jobs across Australia.
Regional Australia is home to so many of the things that make Australia unique and so many of our nation’s most iconic and breathtaking attractions. We know that bringing tourists to our regions provides greater opportunities for businesses and employment in those communities.
Labor understands the increasing importance of Tourism in regional areas and believes the Government should be doing more to encourage people to visit our regions, stay longer and spend more.
The Beach, Bush and Beyond report highlights the need to showcase what’s on offer, demystify the impact of time and distance and provide tourists with more information about regional journeys and the many opportunities to experience along the way.
These findings mirror the feedback Labor is receiving from industry bodies, tour operators and small businesses we are speaking to about how to encourage more people to visit regional areas.
Labor understands that every dollar spent on tourism promotion generates a return of $16.
We call on the Government to re-engage with the domestic tourism sector and invest in domestic marketing, which in turn will assist to overcome these perceptions and increase regional dispersal.