Climate change poses the biggest long-term challenge to tourism in Australia, but an increasingly competitive global market is providing more immediate problems, says a tourist industry expert.
"Climate change has the potential to impact on Australia's unique natural environment and affect consumers' travel destinations, so it is important that the industry work with government to develop a comprehensive, measurable response," Tourism and Transport Forum's (TTF) National Manager Caroline Wilkie told The Epoch Times.
The threat of climate change is causing many in the tourism industry to seriously reconsider their business operations according to the latest industry survey, Tourism Futures, taken in the lead-up to the Tourism Futures conference on June 2–4.
"The Great Barrier Reef, our beaches, rainforests and our other unique environments are all under threat from climate change," says Tourism Futures convenor Tony Charters, who was one of the limited number of Australians who attended training sessions with Nobel Prize–winning environmentalist Al Gore in 2006 and 2007.
Australia's tourism industry is also facing a drop in international tourists. The reduction is something the industry needs to immediately respond to, says Ms Wilkie.
"The growth of international tourism to Australia is one of slow growth in visitor numbers. International visitor numbers to Australia in 2007 grew by 1.9 per cent, behind official forecasts."
Tourism remains a strong contributor to Australia's economy with tourism spending reaching $85.4 billion in 2006–07, "but the tourism industry must address the challenges of an increasingly competitive global market," she said.
Australia's top five international tourism markets are New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Japan, the US and China. Ms Wilkie states that there has been a decrease in the number of Japanese and Korean tourists who visited Australia in 2007. "However, visitor numbers from the emerging markets of China and India grew strongly, by 15.0 per cent and 13.6 per cent respectively."
Spending by Chinese visitors contributed $1.4 billion to the Australian economy in 2007 and China is now Australia's fifth-largest international tourism market, said Ms Wilkie. This is set to grow over the next 10 years.
"Tourism forecasts project that visitor arrivals from China will grow by almost 13 per cent each year to reach one million in 2016." This would bring China into second place behind New Zealand.
According to Ms Wilkie: "China's economic growth represents a huge opportunity for Australian tourism and the tourism industry must work to strengthen the ties between the two countries by developing experiences that appeal to Chinese visitors and marketing them appropriately."
Tourism Australia provides Chinese consumers with information about Australia as a destination and about the great tourism experiences on offer through consumer advertising, across print, television, outdoor and digital media, as well as trade fairs and co-operative work with local travel agents.
Traditionally, it is Australia's beautiful landscapes, Aboriginal art and culture, coastal lifestyles and the outback that attract incoming tourism and studies into tourism trends show that backpacking remains a popular way to experience Australia for overseas travellers. In 2006, 15 million nights were spent by international tourists in backpacker accommodation, according to a TTF report.
Delegates at the Australian Tourism Export Council's (ATEC) Backpacker Conference held on April 18, 2008 heard that due to online social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube and MySpace, tech-savvy backpackers are ignoring traditional travel agencies and planning their holidays online. These sites provide users an easy way to write about travel experiences, share photos and review services at popular domestic and international destinations.
Tourism NSW, international marketing group manager Carmel Beattie, told industry delegates at the conference to embrace the online revolution saying: "The industry should not fear travel blogs, which could deliver good and bad reviews of their businesses, but revel in the feedback that had not been available in the past. In a way, it really keeps us up to the mark."
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