Tourism saved from heavy hitting tax: ATEC

Strong advocacy by the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC), in partnership with other major tourism industry bodies, has pushed the Federal Government to back down on plans to index increases to the Passenger Movement Charge (PMC) which would have hit hard at tourism businesses across Australia.

ATEC Managing Director, Felicia Mariani said that while the PMC will now increase by $8 to $55 for every departing visitor, the CPI increase was going to cause ongoing damage to the industry for years to come.

Mariani explained "the industry isn't excited about the prospect of an increase to the PMC, which comes on top of the carbon tax, the high Australian dollar and all the other external pressures faced by tourism businesses right now.

"We are pleased to have averted the proposal to embed an annual increase tied to CPI and that the Government realised this ongoing tax hit would be extraordinarily damaging to our industry.

"This decision was a direct result of a coordinated and sustained campaign against this indexation that finally went beyond the halls of Canberra. Industry's objection to this latest grab for cash was vocal, public and solid in its commitment by all industry associations."

The Federal Government has heeded industry's concerns and adopted amendments to firstly drop plans for an annual PMC increase and, secondly, to double the hypothecation of PMC revenue to not only include the Asia Marketing Fund, but now also for a regional tourism fund.

In a message to the tourism industry, Mariani said the united campaign has shown a solidarity of message can be a powerful influence for change, adding "hopefully, this process for collaboration can become a successful blueprint for how this industry can work together to achieve real outcomes in future.

"For now, let's just celebrate the fact that we have dodged a significant bullet by averting an annually indexed increase to the PMC."

Tourism & Transport Forum Chief Executive John Lee also welcomed the change, adding "this is a substantial win for the tourism industry and a victory for common sense, because automatically increasing the PMC every year would have seen the burden grow and grow." Lee also welcomed the proposal to redirect more PMC revenue to regional tourism, concluding "this will see over $40 million allocated to help boost regional tourism through projects such the development of key tourism infrastructure and experiences in regional areas."

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