Australia in tourism drive
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The push is hoping to shift the image of Australia away from traditional icons such as the Sydney Opera House.
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CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) -- Australia is hoping to lure wealthy Asian tourists and other upmarket travellers with a major campaign to help its tourism industry overcome the fear of terrorism and effects of the SARS virus and Iraq war.
Prime Minister John Howard on Thursday launched the A$235 million ($169 million) campaign to broaden the overseas image of Australia's tourism industry which accounts for 4.5 percent of the economy and employs six percent of the national workforce.
The release of the campaign was timed to coincide with the Rugby World Cup, with the final being held in Sydney this weekend. The event has been the biggest boost to tourism since Australia's largest city, Sydney, hosted the Olympics in 2000.
"As a nation we have shown the world that we are a sophisticated, friendly and open country in the magnificent way we have hosted both the 2003 Rugby World Cup and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games," Howard said at the launch.
"Our aim is to build on both the achievements of these events and on the strengths of the industry throughout the country."
The number of overseas tourists visiting Australia hit 4.93 million in 2000 -- about one percent of world tourism -- but has been slipping since, trimming Australia's fourth-biggest foreign exchange earner which generates about A$17 billion a year.
Australia's Tourism Forecasting Council expects inbound visitor arrivals to decline by 5.3 percent in 2003 and export earnings to be down A$1.7 billion from a year ago.
The Australian Tourism Export Council said the industry contracted for a third consecutive year in 2003.
Fallout
This is the continuing fallout from the September 11, 2001, airliner attacks in the United States which scared tourists off air travel and was compounded by the spread of flu-like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Asia and the Iraq war.
The collapse of Australia's second largest airline, Ansett Airlines, in 2001 also put a dampener on the industry, particularly on domestic tourism which accounts for 75 percent of business.
Tourism Minister Joe Hockey said the major policy shift in tourism unveiled on Thursday would move the spotlight off generic campaigns featuring the Sydney Opera House, Uluru and cuddly koalas to target "high yield market niches."
He listed potential markets as sports tourism, seniors, culture and arts, backpacking, health, caravanning, cycling, and wine, while stressing a bid to lure tourists to regional areas.
Over half the new spending -- which lifts tourism expenditure to A$600 million over the next four-and-a-half years -- will be used for international marketing to vie against rival locations.
Australia wants to boost Asian tourist numbers, with China targeted to send one million visitors a year by 2013.
For while Australia has tightened its ties to key ally the United States in recent years, it has also tried to boost economic ties in Asia which accounts for 50 percent of trade and provides most of 110,000 students coming here each year to study.
"Research has shown that every dollar spent on tourist promotion offshore generates between A$11 and A$16 in revenue for Australia," Hockey said in a statement.
The tourism launch comes in a week when Howard has announced a major national health scheme overhaul and toned down education reforms as his seven-year-old conservative government start to focus on domestic issues ahead of a likely 2004 election.
Copyright 2003
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
