Australia's tourism industry will shed the label of "poor cousins" by 2025, creating more jobs than manufacturing, according to a new report.
A report commissioned by (Tourism and Transport Forum Australia), Australia's tourism and transportation forum, called on government to increase investment in the tourism market and infrastructure in next month's federal budget to help the industry grow rapidly.
As Chinese love to travel to Australia and help create a mini-tourism boom in the region, the report shows that employment in the tourism sector is expected to increase from nine hundred and thirty four thousand in 2015-16 to nearly 1.5 million in 2025-26. Tourism spending is expected to grow by 74 billion yuan, or 57%, to 204 billion yuan.
It is expected that 10 per cent growth in tourism will continue over the past five years and will help the industry surpass manufacturing (6.7 per cent), accounting for 7.7 per cent of total employment in Australia. That would be much higher than in financial services (3.5 per cent), agriculture, forestry and fisheries (2.3 per cent) and mining (1.8 per cent).
TTF chief executive Osmond (Margy Osmond) said tourism is often seen as a "poor cousin" compared to other industries, but the new report suggests it will gain more influence over the next decade.
But she said tourism needed a federal government to make additional marketing investments in the next month's budget to replace the 35 million yuan lost last year, as it is critical to the boom in the post-resource boom.
"you can't beat a fat face-in this industry, the more money you spend, the better it works. We always encourage the state government or federal government to spend more money on travel marketing, because your return is 15 to 1. "
Osmond said the state government is beginning to recognize strategic issues, such as large infrastructure projects (roads, public transport and airports) as important as marketing costs.
"they need to focus on the future growth of the industry," she said.
But Australia is not the only country seeking lucrative tourism spending, especially for India and China's fast-growing middle class.
"there is great potential to develop the leisure tourism market, but we are in a competitive tourism consumer market, and we can no longer just preach that we have beautiful beaches and can't sleep on the crown." Osmond said.
The report found that tourism visits are expected to grow 31 percent between 2016 and 2026 to reach 385 million, with visits and consumer spending likely to be higher if the industry sets more competitive targets.
In 2017 / 18, the Australian Tourism Board received 148.3 million yuan, down from 156.8 million yuan last year, mainly because of the new foreign exchange treatment of the agency's funds and the government efficiency dividend.
The Australian Tourism Board has been leading more international tourists to Australia, and in February launched a new advertising campaign in the United States for $35 million. The agency has also set up a $12 million fund to help states bid for business.
Federal Tourism Secretary Joe Beau said the number of visitors to Australia reached an all-time high, with international tourists spending more than 40 billion yuan for the first time in March. He said tourism was growing faster than the national economy, accounting for 10 percent of Australia's total exports in 2016-17.