Tourism

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (15:50): I rise today to speak about the tourism industry and its strategic importance to our economy and job creation. The tourism industry in South Australia employs 39,000 South Australians, many of whom live and work in our regions. Recognised internationally as a growth industry, tourism is a highly competitive sector as countries vie for an increasing share of the growing market, as well as compete domestically for intrastate travel. In a nutshell, tourism equals jobs.

South Australia had a particularly grievous summer. As bushfires raged across our beautiful Kangaroo Island and Adelaide Hills and as smoke filled the skies, we grieved together as a community for the loss of life and livelihoods. As milder weather and some rain finally abated these catastrophic fires, we are now facing growing international concerns about the impact of the coronavirus. I have heard from people who had cancellations of bookings three years into the future because tourists feel that Australia is not safe and they are concerned that they would not be able to participate in all the things they want to do.

In a recent quarterly survey, the tourism industry of South Australia heard that eight out of 10 businesses were reporting a financial impact. They are doing it tough. South Australia's visitor economy was in sharp decline even before the bushfires and coronavirus hit, according to statistics released by our very own tourism body. The barometer shows the visitor economy is at its lowest ebb since 2012, with a huge 51 per cent decrease in business outlook and a 34 per cent decline in business activity.

We know that businesses in bushfire-affected areas are reporting a downturn in visitors and, in some cases, are finding it necessary to lay off staff. Tourism is one of the few economic areas that can generate an economic stimulus if strategically primed by government. This government had 16 years in opposition to develop their own policy and agenda, and we have found that this government has run out of steam within its first two years of office. We may have a minister for tourism in name, but not in spirit. We need leadership at a time of crisis, and the tourism sector clearly feels abandoned by this government. In fact, I can summarise the government's tourism response so far: a hashtag, a focus on fossils and a letter to the royals.

So what happens after the initial sugar hit of the #BookThemOut campaign? If we look at Queensland, their state government came out and announced a raft of measures for the tourism industry. It included new marketing funding for domestic and international markets, reducing or waiving state government fees and charges. In Victoria, after their initial $2 million campaign, 'A short stay goes a long way', they announced a $5 million campaign for Visit Victoria to support marketing across Australia and also for international marketing to Vietnam, India, New Zealand and the US.

What this government needs to look at first is to make sure we get our fair share of the federal government's support package. We have heard nothing. We want our fair share of that $76 million. We need to increase tourism marketing, to improve tourism infrastructure and tourism access, and to reverse the cuts to the Tourism Commission, the $23 million cut from the budget. The silence is: deafening from the Marshall Liberal government. There appears to be no coherent plan in response to these massive headwinds facing the industry. My message to the Premier and the government is get on with it. We have tourism businesses and jobs on the line. We need to move fast and we need to get it right.