❓ Mr. Redman questions the cancellation of a familiarisation tour for travel agents from COVID-safe states, while Minister Papalia defends the decision citing border restrictions and responsible spending of taxpayer money.
AnsweredQoN 959Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TOURISM —
FAMILIARISATION TOURS
959. Mr D.T. REDMAN to the Minister for Tourism:
I
refer to a recent decision by Tourism WA to cancel a Helloworld familiarisation
tour to Western Australia by six travel agents from Queensland, Tasmania
and the Australian Capital Territory—a market connection that is very
important to tourism operators here in WA.
(1) What is the
basis for the cancelling a familiarisation tour to WA for travel agents from
states where there are currently no travel restrictions?
(2) Do you
support familiarisation tours by travel agents from COVID-19-safe states as a strategy
to build our interstate travel market?
FAMILIARISATION TOURS
959. Mr D.T. REDMAN to the Minister for Tourism:
I
refer to a recent decision by Tourism WA to cancel a Helloworld familiarisation
tour to Western Australia by six travel agents from Queensland, Tasmania
and the Australian Capital Territory—a market connection that is very
important to tourism operators here in WA.
(1) What is the
basis for the cancelling a familiarisation tour to WA for travel agents from
states where there are currently no travel restrictions?
(2) Do you
support familiarisation tours by travel agents from COVID-19-safe states as a strategy
to build our interstate travel market?
AnswerView source ↗
Thank you, member, for the
question.
(1)–(2) The member is talking about an operational matter
right down in the weeds with respect to a familiarisation tour by
Helloworld representatives from—where did the member say they were
from?
Mr D.T. Redman : From
Queensland, ACT and Tasmania.
Mr P. PAPALIA : Without
awareness of what date the cancellation was made, I would not be able to
enlighten the member on the reasoning behind the cancellation. Until very
recently we had a hard border. We then went to a controlled border only a matter
of a week and a bit ago—two weeks ago. The consequence of having the
hard border would have been that we were preparing for a future opportunity to
market to interstate markets when they became
available. In Tourism WA for some time now—in fact, right throughout
the COVID-19 pandemic response , we
have had in-market buy right across the eastern seaboard. We have just been
rolling it over. For a lot of measures that we would normally have
undertaken to grow business numbers we have either paused or had to cancel. For
instance, there has been no point in seeking out big events that draw people
when we could not bring people here.
Similarly, familiarisations for
travel agents are the sort of thing that are done when there is the capacity to
market to a market. There is not much point in spending taxpayers'
dollars on an activity that would not result in a return. I would have assumed that.
Had the member given me some notice, I might have been able to find out exactly
why it was cancelled and why the visit was postponed, no doubt, rather than
completely ended forever. There will be an opportunity for these types of
activities to return. When it is appropriate, we will spend valuable taxpayers'
money on things that get a return. We do not risk that investment at a time
when we might not be able to exploit it. If the member wanted to know the
answer, he might have given me a little bit of notice.
question.
(1)–(2) The member is talking about an operational matter
right down in the weeds with respect to a familiarisation tour by
Helloworld representatives from—where did the member say they were
from?
Mr D.T. Redman : From
Queensland, ACT and Tasmania.
Mr P. PAPALIA : Without
awareness of what date the cancellation was made, I would not be able to
enlighten the member on the reasoning behind the cancellation. Until very
recently we had a hard border. We then went to a controlled border only a matter
of a week and a bit ago—two weeks ago. The consequence of having the
hard border would have been that we were preparing for a future opportunity to
market to interstate markets when they became
available. In Tourism WA for some time now—in fact, right throughout
the COVID-19 pandemic response , we
have had in-market buy right across the eastern seaboard. We have just been
rolling it over. For a lot of measures that we would normally have
undertaken to grow business numbers we have either paused or had to cancel. For
instance, there has been no point in seeking out big events that draw people
when we could not bring people here.
Similarly, familiarisations for
travel agents are the sort of thing that are done when there is the capacity to
market to a market. There is not much point in spending taxpayers'
dollars on an activity that would not result in a return. I would have assumed that.
Had the member given me some notice, I might have been able to find out exactly
why it was cancelled and why the visit was postponed, no doubt, rather than
completely ended forever. There will be an opportunity for these types of
activities to return. When it is appropriate, we will spend valuable taxpayers'
money on things that get a return. We do not risk that investment at a time
when we might not be able to exploit it. If the member wanted to know the
answer, he might have given me a little bit of notice.
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