Tourism peak bodies welcome Senator Don Farrell as new Federal Tourism Minister

The Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC) and the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) have welcomed Senator Don Farrell as the new Federal Minister for Tourism and Trade.

With tourism a valuable contributor to the Australian economy, the industry is delighted that the tourism portfolio is aligned with trade in a senior cabinet position.

ATIC is looking forward to working with Senator Farrell to implement the new government’s $48 million tourism election commitments, particularly developing the Quality Tourism Framework to assist businesses to develop and recover by providing mentoring, support and specialised programs.

Evan Hall, Chair of the Australian Tourism Industry Council notes “The Australian Tourism Industry Council has worked closely with Senator Farrell as opposition tourism spokesperson and look forward to working with the new minister to deliver the government’s $48 million tourism package” said Evan Hall, Chair of the Australian Tourism Industry Council.

“ATIC will work with the new government to assist small and regional tourism businesses to develop high quality tourism product and to recover from the impacts of COVID.

“The appointment of Senator Farrell to the cabinet in the tourism portfolio, and the alignment with the trade portfolio, is welcome as Australia rebuilds its visitor economy.”

Australia’s export tourism industry looks forward to working alongside the newly formed Federal Government in rebuilding international visitor markets.

ATEC, which represents tourism export businesses around the country, has outlined priority areas for action which will support the industry in rebuilding its $45 billion pre-covid annual export success.

ATEC Managing Director Peter Shelley notes “our industry is future focused and will be one of the driving powers behind Australia’s export success over the coming decade.

“Prior to covid, tourism was amongst the top five Australian exports and our position as a leading export industry remains a significant opportunity for the national economy.

“With a few small investments and the right policy settings, export tourism can make a huge contribution to Australia’s economic success providing jobs and bringing prosperity to regional communities.” 

Shelley said over the past two years ATEC has consulted significantly with the export tourism industry and identified a number of issues which the Government can immediately address in helping to get businesses back to market effectively including:

• Visa policy and processing – using our visa system to drive greater visitation though short-term fee waivers for categories including Working Holiday Makers and fixing delays in the visa processing system which are damaging the industry's restart.

• Funding to re-engage with international markets – supporting proven and experienced export business with marketing subsidies to promote their products in-market.

• Aviation access - build partnerships with carriers to support the return of seat capacity for markets which are aligned with high value international visitors.

• Workforce and skills – supporting the rebuilding of the tourism workforce through attracting and re-training staff and looking at ways to supplement our local workforce.

Shelley adds “export tourism has a proven history of success and the signs are that international travel will continue to rebound over the coming 12 months but we must have our industry in top condition to meet the needs of a post-covid traveller.

“The opportunities for our export tourism businesses to regrow are strong and their success can be assured with a few simple but well-placed policy tweaks and investments.

“Minister Farrell has been a strong supporter of our industry over many years and has a grounded understanding of the fundamental opportunities and challenges facing the rebuild of our tourism export industry.

“We congratulate the Minister and his team and look forward to discussing our feedback and opportunities for tourism’s success.”