Packer: Australian must match Singapore to lure Chinese tourists

Billionaire businessman James Packer wants more Federal Government support for tourism but less Government regulation in order to boost visitor numbers to Australia.

Speaking at the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) 2012 Leadership Summit 2012 in Canberra, the Crown Limited Executive Chairman outlined the boom in international tourism among China's growing middle class, and the dramatic rise in Chinese visitors to Singapore.

He went on to highlight how the Singapore Government had backed infrastructure development that appealed to Chinese visitors, citing the development of integrated resorts at Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa and also referred to Singapore's visa processing for Chinese visitors, which can be done online and takes up to two days.

Packer contrasted this with Australia, highlighting that no new five start hotels or resorts had been built in Sydney since the Olympics, leaving the the city needing 5,000 rooms were needed to meet current demand and

He also drew attention to the visa process for Chinese visitors wanting to visit Australia which he indicated takes up to four days, with a manual form to be completed in English and mailed to an Embassy, along with proof of $5,000 in a bank account and a firm itinerary.

Packer suggested that for most Chinese this process was simply too hard and that Australia needed to "cut red tape" and lead the international tourism market in visa processing for Chinese visitors.

As a result, Packer cited Singapore tourism as having grown 13% in the past year, with tourism receipts doubling from S$12.6 billion (AUS$9.95 billion) in 2009 to S$22.2 billion (AUS$15.53 billion) in 2011, during which time Australia has seen just 1% growth in tourism.

Emphasising the importance of international tourism by China's middle class, Packer believes unless the tourism industry understands what a growing Asian middle class wants, there is little hope of it taking advantage of opportunities that lie ahead.

Packer told the Forum "while the changes on our doorstep are massive, unless we appreciate exactly what the rising Asian middle class want, and unless we cater for their desires, then we have little hope of taking advantage of the opportunity."

He suggested the Chinese middle classes want luxury travel, quality hotels, signature restaurants, high-end retail and gambling.

Packer went on to suggest a lack of attention by Government to tourism and that policy makers needed to recognise the importance of industry explaining that Australia should be attracting more Chinese visitors, highlighting how Australia's 1.3% market share of outbound travel from China in 2001, had slipped to 0.8% market share by 2011.

Packer also pointed out that Australia's natural tourist attractions are "absolutely critical" but added "if you look at the most popular tourist destinations they are predominately man-made attractions.

"For example, five million tourists travel to the Grand Canyon every year but 39 million go to Las Vegas.

"We have the most amazing environment, but just as Singapore did, we need to combine that with world class man-made attractions if we are to succeed in the future."

Packer added that his proposed Sydney hotel resort, Barangaroo, will be something "truly special", an iconic building that complements the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.

He stated "Sydney deserves it, Australia deserves it", adding that the development would give a massive boost to Sydney's tourism market and concluding "when Sydney is prosperous, the rest of the country benefits economically."