Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional legal opinion.
Briefing Paper No. 06/2004 by John Wilkinson
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- Tourism forms (directly and indirectly) around 8.7% of
Australian Gross Domestic Product (pp.6-7)
- Around 10% of employment, in Australia, can be attributed
(directly and indirectly) to tourist activity (pp.8-9)
- Domestic tourism is the mainstay of Australia tourism, although
inbound tourism provides substantial export benefits (pp.1-5)
- Government, both at a federal and a state level, has involved
itself in sustaining the tourist industry (pp.10-12)
- Although the collapse of HIH, the events of September 11, the
collapse of Ansett and the outbreak of SARS, have temporarily contributed to a
downturn in the numbers of tourists coming to Australia, there now appear to be
signs of recovery (pp.12-16)
- The federal government has responded to the events of 2001-2003
by suggesting innovations in the federal government’s relations with the
tourist industry. These have come in the form of a white paper, issued in 2003
(pp.18-26)
- Certain issues seem set to continue, however, as long term
matters for resolution. These include the nature of the strategic directions
for Australian tourism; the issue of the interstate rivalry amongst state
tourist bodies; the dichotomy between incomes and prices as it effects
people’s decision to take a holiday; and the potential for increasing the
number of Chinese visitors coming to Australia (pp.26-41)
