Reforms in the Tourism Sector in Australia

Reforms in the Tourism Sector in Australia

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Introduction

Australia’s international tourism industry has grown steadily over the past two decades. The number of global tourists to Australia has more than doubled over and rose from 2.5 million in 1992 to nearly 6.7 million in 2014 (Pc.gov.au, 2015). The structure of the tourism industry has also changed over the years. The Asian markets, especially India and China have grown in significance as a source of overseas tourists to Australia. China is now the second-largest source of visitors after New Zealand. There has been a slow-down and a significant deterioration in the growth of a number of tourists to the country from several of the historically conspicuous source countries for example Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The growth in the industry in general means that regional visitation has increased substantially. However, the change in the structure of source countries has backed the decline in the proportion of spending and the proportion of overseas visitors travelling to regional areas of Australia, which is approximately 5 percentage points between 2006 and 2014.In some regions in Australia, there has been a general drop in international tourism. For instance in Tropical North Queensland where a 20 percent drop was recorded in the number of international visitors visiting this region, especially from Japan. A 40 percent drop in real spending was documented between 2006 and 2014 (Statements.qld.gov.au, 2015).

Current Situation

The way commerce in the global tourism industry field revolutionize and fine-tune to changing trends will principally determine how effective the nation is in continuing to attract overseas tourists. The Australian government has a role in the promotion of tourism in the country. Several reforms will be advantageous to the tourism sector and the economy in general. There is a lot that the Australian can do. The majority of the national parks are disadvantaged with tired infrastructure and continuous funding deficits. More private venture and better user-charging would offer an extra source of financing and enable innovation in the creation of tourism-related infrastructure.

The pitiable authorisation processes for tourism-related infrastructure investments are costly to communities, businesses, and to developers. There is a necessity for the Australian government to gauge repeatedly and modify these processes so that they are risk-based and supple. The aim of these reviews and reforms is to ensure that these processes keep pace with the innovations in the tourism sector.

The Australian government can be involved in attracting overseas visitors to Australia through the delivery of global destination marketing and backing for key events. However, valuations often exaggerate the net economic advantages of these activities- and subsequently the basis for state backing- underlining a necessity for rigorous and clear economic examination to decide whether government spending is justified.