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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-11-01 Daily Xml
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Tourism and Transport Forum Australia

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. J.S. Lee:

That this council—

1. Recognises that the Tourism and Transport Forum Australia (TTF) is the peak industry group for the Australian tourism, transport and aviation sectors;

2. Acknowledges the impact of TTF as a membership organisation consisting of leading businesses and institutions and its important work to grow industry capacity, resilience and connections since its establishment in 1989; and

3. Congratulates TTF for hosting its inaugural Friends of Tourism event in South Australia on 30 August 2023 by highlighting the important contribution of tourism to our regional, state and national economies and communities.

(Continued from 13 September 2023.)

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (20:04): I rise to support this motion. The recent Tourism and Transport Forum Friends of Tourism event was a great success. I commend the opposition for this motion and their obvious support for extensive engagement with the Tourism and Transport Forum, such as that undertaken by the Malinauskas Labor government. Minister Bettison was an official co-host of the event. Unfortunately, she was unwell on the night, but I am told she was well represented by Minister Champion.

The Tourism and Transport Forum incorporates accommodation, aviation, major and business events, retail, hospitality, professional services, education, technology, tourism marketing and attraction, travel operators, transport and infrastructure. The Friends of Tourism events, which are held in different parliaments around the country, enable networking between members of the industry and politicians, which is an invaluable support for providing input into decision-making and better understanding of the issues in the tourism and transport industry.

The timing for this event in South Australia was no coincidence as it has been an incredible year for South Australia's visitor economy. In the year to March 2023, which is the most up-to-date annual data we have, the annual value of the visitor economy in South Australia has grown from $6.1 billion to $9.4 billion. This is an increase of $3.3 billion in a single year. The previous year-to-year comparison, which was March 2021 to March 2022, saw an increase of $1.7 billion. Our interstate tourism spend reached a record high of $3.5 billion at year end March 2023, up on the previous December 2022 record of $3.2 billion.

Following the pandemic lockdowns, we found South Australians discovering their own backyards and we have seen an increase in our intrastate tourism spend to a record high of $3 billion, which is up 18 per cent on the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.

We know that many members of the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) have their eyes and ears keenly on the return of the international market. Whilst international tourism to South Australia has grown to $814 million, there is some way to go to recover the record high of $1.2 billion seen in December 2019 and the Malinauskas Labor government is focused on not just returning to this number but exceeding it.

To support a quick recovery, Minister Bettison, through the South Australian Tourism Commission, supported 29 operators to meet and network with leading travel agents and product managers overseas in key UK destinations, as well as Germany, Italy and France. One on one workshops and networking events connected some of our best tourism operators with more than 300 leading industry experts to help grow market presence for both their business and the state.

Those UK and Europe roadshows follow a successful US event in March, which saw tourism operators promoting their offerings and South Australia to the North American market, which was worth $80 million a year to the state's visitor economy pre-COVID. The two roadshows were targeted to international markets that are expected to return strongly, with emphasis on the high-value traveller and working holiday-maker, both markets which are key to growth.

I congratulate Minister Bettison for her work in this space. This is a government that understands the power of tourism in our economy. The state government continues our work towards the $12.8 billion 2030 visitor economy goal and, of course, we value the input and insights provided by the Tourism and Transport Forum and thank them for the opportunities provided through the recent Friends of Tourism event.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (20:08): I would like to thank the Hon. Clare Scriven for showing government support. Tourism has had bipartisan support throughout the time I have been in parliament and may that continue. I would like to once again congratulate and recognise the great work of the Tourism and Transport Forum Australia. I commend the motion.

Motion carried.

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