Results of a business confidence survey released last week by the Tourism Industry Council of South Australia highlight a significant and concerning drop in confidence for South Australian tourism businesses.
Tourism is a key economic driver for South Australia, creating jobs and supporting businesses across the state. However, today’s report highlights that confidence in business activity and business outlook in the SA tourism sector have dropped by 10 and 13 per cent respectively since March.
South Australian tourism businesses are sending a clear message to both the State and Federal Liberal Governments that they are feeling the effects of an increasingly uncertain economy, with a 10 per cent increase in businesses expecting weaker performance in the next three months.
These fears flow into employment with only 16 per cent of businesses indicating they had employed additional staff, compared with 28 per cent in March this year – meaning less opportunities for South Australians to be employed in this vibrant and important sector.
This survey highlights the impact of the Marshall Liberal Government’s $23 million cuts to tourism, which has reduced the State’s tourism marketing budget to a five-year low.
If the South Australian Government was serious about growing the contribution visitors to our state make to the economy, they would be investing in the sector rather than ripping funding out and expecting businesses to pick up the slack.
South Australia’s valuable tourism sector deserves better.