A WA parliamentary question addresses the decline in international tourists following the September 11 attacks and outlines the State Government's response, including increased funding and targeted advertising campaigns.

AnsweredQoN 575Legislative Assembly
Asked
26 November 2001
Member
Portfolio
Tourism

QuestionView source ↗

TOURIST NUMBERS
I refer to an article in The Australian Financial Review of 23 November 2001 headlined “Tourist numbers take a dive”. (1) To what degree is Western Australia facing a decline in international tourists? (2) What is the State Government doing to overcome the reduction in international tourists visiting the State? Mr BROWN

AnswerView source ↗

(1)-(2) I thank the member for Cockburn for his interest in tourism matters and for notice of the question. I am aware of the article by Mary Byrne and Sam Strutt published in The Australian Financial Review on 23 November - The number of overseas tourists visiting Australia fell to a 2 ½- year low in October, down 12.7 per cent following the September 11 attacks in the US. And analysts say the situation will get worse before it gets better. “I don’t think we’re going to see a strong recovery until we get into next year. And even the forward bookings for the first quarter of next year are still well down,” the managing director of the Australian Tourist Commission, Mr Ken Boundy, said. A similar article in The West Australian on 23 November reported Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that indicate a fall in visitors of 16.2 per cent between October 2000 and October 2001. The Government has recognised the significant impact on the Australian economy, and particularly the Western Australian economy, of that reduction in international tourists, and that is why it has allocated an additional $5 million to promote tourism in Western Australia. I also wish to report on two initiatives that have been taken to seek additional tourists from the United Kingdom. The Western Australian Tourism Commission, the Australian Tourism Commission and Tourism New South Wales have entered into a partnership arrangement for a $200 000 advertising campaign called Bridge the World - Coast to Coast. The Bridge the World campaign was launched in the United Kingdom this week and is targeted at tourists who usually travel to the United States, and it focuses on the affordability and accessibility of a coast-to-coast Australian holiday, with Western Australia and New South Wales as the western and eastern gateways for Australia. That campaign follows the launch in the United Kingdom last week of a separate $140 000 press campaign that began on 17 November and offers various incentives for people who are seeking to travel during the Christmas holiday period. These campaigns are the result of the very good decision by the Labor Government to inject additional funds into the tourism budget to assist the tourism industry in this State, and more particularly to try to ensure that we recover from the decline in the number of international tourists to Western Australia.
(1) To what degree is Western Australia facing a decline in international tourists? (2) What is the State Government doing to overcome the reduction in international tourists visiting the State? Mr BROWN replied: (1)-(2) I thank the member for Cockburn for his interest in tourism matters and for notice of the question. I am aware of the article by Mary Byrne and Sam Strutt published in The Australian Financial Review on 23 November - The number of overseas tourists visiting Australia fell to a 2 ½- year low in October, down 12.7 per cent following the September 11 attacks in the US. And analysts say the situation will get worse before it gets better. “I don’t think we’re going to see a strong recovery until we get into next year. And even the forward bookings for the first quarter of next year are still well down,” the managing director of the Australian Tourist Commission, Mr Ken Boundy, said. A similar article in The West Australian on 23 November reported Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that indicate a fall in visitors of 16.2 per cent between October 2000 and October 2001. The Government has recognised the significant impact on the Australian economy, and particularly the Western Australian economy, of that reduction in international tourists, and that is why it has allocated an additional $5 million to promote tourism in Western Australia. I also wish to report on two initiatives that have been taken to seek additional tourists from the United Kingdom. The Western Australian Tourism Commission, the Australian Tourism Commission and Tourism New South Wales have entered into a partnership arrangement for a $200 000 advertising campaign called Bridge the World - Coast to Coast. The Bridge the World campaign was launched in the United Kingdom this week and is targeted at tourists who usually travel to the United States, and it focuses on the affordability and accessibility of a coast-to-coast Australian holiday, with Western Australia and New South Wales as the western and eastern gateways for Australia. That campaign follows the launch in the United Kingdom last week of a separate $140 000 press campaign that began on 17 November and offers various incentives for people who are seeking to travel during the Christmas holiday period. These campaigns are the result of the very good decision by the Labor Government to inject additional funds into the tourism budget to assist the tourism industry in this State, and more particularly to try to ensure that we recover from the decline in the number of international tourists to Western Australia.
(2) What is the State Government doing to overcome the reduction in international tourists visiting the State? Mr BROWN replied: (1)-(2) I thank the member for Cockburn for his interest in tourism matters and for notice of the question. I am aware of the article by Mary Byrne and Sam Strutt published in The Australian Financial Review on 23 November - The number of overseas tourists visiting Australia fell to a 2 ½- year low in October, down 12.7 per cent following the September 11 attacks in the US. And analysts say the situation will get worse before it gets better. “I don’t think we’re going to see a strong recovery until we get into next year. And even the forward bookings for the first quarter of next year are still well down,” the managing director of the Australian Tourist Commission, Mr Ken Boundy, said. A similar article in The West Australian on 23 November reported Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that indicate a fall in visitors of 16.2 per cent between October 2000 and October 2001. The Government has recognised the significant impact on the Australian economy, and particularly the Western Australian economy, of that reduction in international tourists, and that is why it has allocated an additional $5 million to promote tourism in Western Australia. I also wish to report on two initiatives that have been taken to seek additional tourists from the United Kingdom. The Western Australian Tourism Commission, the Australian Tourism Commission and Tourism New South Wales have entered into a partnership arrangement for a $200 000 advertising campaign called Bridge the World - Coast to Coast. The Bridge the World campaign was launched in the United Kingdom this week and is targeted at tourists who usually travel to the United States, and it focuses on the affordability and accessibility of a coast-to-coast Australian holiday, with Western Australia and New South Wales as the western and eastern gateways for Australia. That campaign follows the launch in the United Kingdom last week of a separate $140 000 press campaign that began on 17 November and offers various incentives for people who are seeking to travel during the Christmas holiday period. These campaigns are the result of the very good decision by the Labor Government to inject additional funds into the tourism budget to assist the tourism industry in this State, and more particularly to try to ensure that we recover from the decline in the number of international tourists to Western Australia.
Mr BROWN replied: (1)-(2) I thank the member for Cockburn for his interest in tourism matters and for notice of the question. I am aware of the article by Mary Byrne and Sam Strutt published in The Australian Financial Review on 23 November - The number of overseas tourists visiting Australia fell to a 2 ½- year low in October, down 12.7 per cent following the September 11 attacks in the US. And analysts say the situation will get worse before it gets better. “I don’t think we’re going to see a strong recovery until we get into next year. And even the forward bookings for the first quarter of next year are still well down,” the managing director of the Australian Tourist Commission, Mr Ken Boundy, said. A similar article in The West Australian on 23 November reported Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that indicate a fall in visitors of 16.2 per cent between October 2000 and October 2001. The Government has recognised the significant impact on the Australian economy, and particularly the Western Australian economy, of that reduction in international tourists, and that is why it has allocated an additional $5 million to promote tourism in Western Australia. I also wish to report on two initiatives that have been taken to seek additional tourists from the United Kingdom. The Western Australian Tourism Commission, the Australian Tourism Commission and Tourism New South Wales have entered into a partnership arrangement for a $200 000 advertising campaign called Bridge the World - Coast to Coast. The Bridge the World campaign was launched in the United Kingdom this week and is targeted at tourists who usually travel to the United States, and it focuses on the affordability and accessibility of a coast-to-coast Australian holiday, with Western Australia and New South Wales as the western and eastern gateways for Australia. That campaign follows the launch in the United Kingdom last week of a separate $140 000 press campaign that began on 17 November and offers various incentives for people who are seeking to travel during the Christmas holiday period. These campaigns are the result of the very good decision by the Labor Government to inject additional funds into the tourism budget to assist the tourism industry in this State, and more particularly to try to ensure that we recover from the decline in the number of international tourists to Western Australia.
(1)-(2) I thank the member for Cockburn for his interest in tourism matters and for notice of the question. I am aware of the article by Mary Byrne and Sam Strutt published in The Australian Financial Review on 23 November - The number of overseas tourists visiting Australia fell to a 2 ½- year low in October, down 12.7 per cent following the September 11 attacks in the US. And analysts say the situation will get worse before it gets better. “I don’t think we’re going to see a strong recovery until we get into next year. And even the forward bookings for the first quarter of next year are still well down,” the managing director of the Australian Tourist Commission, Mr Ken Boundy, said. A similar article in The West Australian on 23 November reported Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that indicate a fall in visitors of 16.2 per cent between October 2000 and October 2001. The Government has recognised the significant impact on the Australian economy, and particularly the Western Australian economy, of that reduction in international tourists, and that is why it has allocated an additional $5 million to promote tourism in Western Australia. I also wish to report on two initiatives that have been taken to seek additional tourists from the United Kingdom. The Western Australian Tourism Commission, the Australian Tourism Commission and Tourism New South Wales have entered into a partnership arrangement for a $200 000 advertising campaign called Bridge the World - Coast to Coast. The Bridge the World campaign was launched in the United Kingdom this week and is targeted at tourists who usually travel to the United States, and it focuses on the affordability and accessibility of a coast-to-coast Australian holiday, with Western Australia and New South Wales as the western and eastern gateways for Australia. That campaign follows the launch in the United Kingdom last week of a separate $140 000 press campaign that began on 17 November and offers various incentives for people who are seeking to travel during the Christmas holiday period. These campaigns are the result of the very good decision by the Labor Government to inject additional funds into the tourism budget to assist the tourism industry in this State, and more particularly to try to ensure that we recover from the decline in the number of international tourists to Western Australia.
And analysts say the situation will get worse before it gets better. “I don’t think we’re going to see a strong recovery until we get into next year. And even the forward bookings for the first quarter of next year are still well down,” the managing director of the Australian Tourist Commission, Mr Ken Boundy, said.
“I don’t think we’re going to see a strong recovery until we get into next year. And even the forward bookings for the first quarter of next year are still well down,” the managing director of the Australian Tourist Commission, Mr Ken Boundy, said.

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