❓ Shadow Minister Mettam questions Tourism Minister Papalia about declining international tourism numbers, attributing it to his management. Papalia deflects blame, citing the previous government's failed strategy and highlighting improvements in interstate tourism.
AnsweredQoN 941Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TOURISM —
INTERNATIONAL VISITORS
941. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Tourism:
I refer to the minister's
comments in March 2018 in which he tried to blame the previous government for
issues in his portfolio, and I quote —
� if there is a failure in strategy
for international tourism, it is entirely the responsibility of the campaigns
that were conducted prior to that 12 months.
Will the minister now accept that
the falling international numbers and spend are entirely due to his management
of tourism campaigns over the last 12 to 18 months?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! Members
on my right!
INTERNATIONAL VISITORS
941. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Tourism:
I refer to the minister's
comments in March 2018 in which he tried to blame the previous government for
issues in his portfolio, and I quote —
� if there is a failure in strategy
for international tourism, it is entirely the responsibility of the campaigns
that were conducted prior to that 12 months.
Will the minister now accept that
the falling international numbers and spend are entirely due to his management
of tourism campaigns over the last 12 to 18 months?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! Members
on my right!
AnswerView source ↗
He stung you, didn't he? He
stung you!
I thank the member for her question.
It is the ''responsible'' of this government? An interesting
suggestion.
What I said in March this year was
in relation to the launch of a two-year action plan.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Vasse!
Mr P. PAPALIA : By March this
year the government had recognised that the Tourism 2020 strategy written by
the previous government—the only strategy in place that was written by
the previous government—had failed, as identified by the Auditor
General in his November 2017 report. We responded by asking Tourism WA to work
with the Tourism Council Western Australia, the Australian Hotels Association
and other parts of the industry in Western Australia to develop an immediate,
two-year action plan to respond to growing visitor numbers from outside the
state, because Western Australia was lagging.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Vasse, I will not warn you again.
Mr P. PAPALIA : We had already delivered on our
election promises of increasing funding and certainty of funding for
destination marketing and events funding. This was about a more immediate
response to filling hotel rooms, getting people out into the regions, and
responding to cleaning up the mess that we inherited. That is what the two-year
action plan is.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Vasse, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr P. PAPALIA : But the only
strategy that is in place is the Tourism 2020 strategy. I have asked Tourism WA
to go and work with industry to develop a new tourism strategy. We have an
action plan that we are enacting; it started in March 2018. The statistics to
which the member refers applied between March and June; there would not be a response
to an initiative we enacted in our action plan in March on international
visitor numbers in the three months between March and June. There has, however,
been a change to interstate visitor numbers, because they are more immediate
than international numbers. I notice that the opposition has had nothing to say
about two consecutive quarters of growth in interstate visitor numbers. It has
not noticed that there was double-digit growth in interstate visitor numbers
the last time the National Visitor Survey was released. I also notice that it
has said nothing about the four to five per cent increase in visitor spend in
the last National Visitor Survey.
Mrs L.M. Harvey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Scarborough, the minister is answering a question.
Mr P. PAPALIA : We are
enacting an action plan and it is clearly working for interstate visitation.
The numbers are growing and the spend is growing. We are going to double the
number of cruise ship visitors next year as a consequence of our action to not
only save cruising in Western Australia after the previous government almost
lost it, but also double, in one year, the visitor numbers and port and ship
visits. We have made regional air travel affordable for many destinations.
People can now get affordable visitor air travel to Broome, Monkey Mia,
Carnarvon, Albany and Esperance —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr P. PAPALIA : People can now
get affordable flights, which is helping tourism, and we are working on other
initiatives. We inherited a mess, but the biggest thing we can do to attract
international visitors is to work towards the two-year action plan objective of
making Western Australia the western gateway to Australia. This does not happen
by accident.
I noticed yet another negative
opinion piece by the opposition today.
Several members interjected.
Mr P. PAPALIA : No, the
opposition —
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Vasse, please. You have asked the question, just wait for the answer.
Mr
P. PAPALIA : The opposition has
discovered international direct flights, having lost the direct flight to Japan
in 2011 and having lost the direct Qantas flight between Perth and Singapore
under the leadership of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Having
never tried to get a direct flight to Shanghai and having not known there was
such a thing as direct flights to India, members opposite have discovered
direct flights. The member for Vasse is now making the observation that it is
all going to happen. It does not just happen, member. The only direct flights
from China that the previous government achieved were three days a week from
Guangzhou. That is a wonderful thing. We have got that up to five days.
Melbourne has 14 direct flights a day. It did not just happen. That government
went to China, it worked hard and it achieved direct flights from new source
markets. That is what governments do to grow international visitor numbers.
That is what we are doing.
stung you!
I thank the member for her question.
It is the ''responsible'' of this government? An interesting
suggestion.
What I said in March this year was
in relation to the launch of a two-year action plan.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Vasse!
Mr P. PAPALIA : By March this
year the government had recognised that the Tourism 2020 strategy written by
the previous government—the only strategy in place that was written by
the previous government—had failed, as identified by the Auditor
General in his November 2017 report. We responded by asking Tourism WA to work
with the Tourism Council Western Australia, the Australian Hotels Association
and other parts of the industry in Western Australia to develop an immediate,
two-year action plan to respond to growing visitor numbers from outside the
state, because Western Australia was lagging.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Vasse, I will not warn you again.
Mr P. PAPALIA : We had already delivered on our
election promises of increasing funding and certainty of funding for
destination marketing and events funding. This was about a more immediate
response to filling hotel rooms, getting people out into the regions, and
responding to cleaning up the mess that we inherited. That is what the two-year
action plan is.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Vasse, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr P. PAPALIA : But the only
strategy that is in place is the Tourism 2020 strategy. I have asked Tourism WA
to go and work with industry to develop a new tourism strategy. We have an
action plan that we are enacting; it started in March 2018. The statistics to
which the member refers applied between March and June; there would not be a response
to an initiative we enacted in our action plan in March on international
visitor numbers in the three months between March and June. There has, however,
been a change to interstate visitor numbers, because they are more immediate
than international numbers. I notice that the opposition has had nothing to say
about two consecutive quarters of growth in interstate visitor numbers. It has
not noticed that there was double-digit growth in interstate visitor numbers
the last time the National Visitor Survey was released. I also notice that it
has said nothing about the four to five per cent increase in visitor spend in
the last National Visitor Survey.
Mrs L.M. Harvey interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Scarborough, the minister is answering a question.
Mr P. PAPALIA : We are
enacting an action plan and it is clearly working for interstate visitation.
The numbers are growing and the spend is growing. We are going to double the
number of cruise ship visitors next year as a consequence of our action to not
only save cruising in Western Australia after the previous government almost
lost it, but also double, in one year, the visitor numbers and port and ship
visits. We have made regional air travel affordable for many destinations.
People can now get affordable visitor air travel to Broome, Monkey Mia,
Carnarvon, Albany and Esperance —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr P. PAPALIA : People can now
get affordable flights, which is helping tourism, and we are working on other
initiatives. We inherited a mess, but the biggest thing we can do to attract
international visitors is to work towards the two-year action plan objective of
making Western Australia the western gateway to Australia. This does not happen
by accident.
I noticed yet another negative
opinion piece by the opposition today.
Several members interjected.
Mr P. PAPALIA : No, the
opposition —
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Vasse, please. You have asked the question, just wait for the answer.
Mr
P. PAPALIA : The opposition has
discovered international direct flights, having lost the direct flight to Japan
in 2011 and having lost the direct Qantas flight between Perth and Singapore
under the leadership of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Having
never tried to get a direct flight to Shanghai and having not known there was
such a thing as direct flights to India, members opposite have discovered
direct flights. The member for Vasse is now making the observation that it is
all going to happen. It does not just happen, member. The only direct flights
from China that the previous government achieved were three days a week from
Guangzhou. That is a wonderful thing. We have got that up to five days.
Melbourne has 14 direct flights a day. It did not just happen. That government
went to China, it worked hard and it achieved direct flights from new source
markets. That is what governments do to grow international visitor numbers.
That is what we are doing.
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