ANDREW NIKOLIC AM, CSC
LIBERAL CANDIDATE FOR BASS
HON BOB BALDWIN MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR TOURISM
AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Monday 26 March 2012
TAPPING NORTHERN TASMANIA’S TOURISM POTENTIAL
Liberal Candidate for Bass, Andrew Nikolic, said he was pleased to host a Tourism Roundtable in Launceston today with Bob Baldwin, Shadow Minister for Tourism and Regional Development.
“Since preselection, I have worked hard to ensure my senior Coalition colleagues visit Northern Tasmania. In recent months, Tony Abbott has visited twice and Andrew Robb, Christopher Pyne, Sophie Mirabella, Sussan Ley, Michaelia Cash, Barnaby Joyce, and now Bob Baldwin have visited.
“I will ensure they gain greater familiarity with the issues that are most important to us. These are tough times for Tasmanian tourism. 2011 ended with tourism down 5% to 862,400 visitors (with total visitor nights decreasing 8%, visitor expenditure down by 4% and the number of interstate visitors down by 4%).
“This morning my friend, Bob Baldwin, participated in a tourism roundtable to hear local views on how to optimise Tasmania’s tourism potential. A key message was that a ‘business and marketing approach’ driven by the needs of industry, rather than a ‘bureaucratic approach,’ was an important precondition for an effective tourism strategy,” Mr Nikolic said.
Tasmanian tourism has a great many natural advantages in terms of its People, Product and Passion. For this reason Tasmania punched above its weight in collecting over a quarter of the awards at this year’s Qantas National Tourism Awards earlier this month.
Mr Baldwin’s visit follows the launch of the Coalition’s www.staycation.org.au campaign which highlights the Spirit of Tasmania and Gordon River cruises. Mr Baldwin indicated that the increased cost of BP fuel used by TT-Line would be passed to consumers.
“The Tasmanian tourism ‘brand’ is built on the state’s environmental assets – the Pure Tasmania brand picked up an award at this year’s Tourism Awards. Yet safeguarding the environment need not be at the expense of a strong and vibrant tourism sector,” Mr Baldwin said.
I fail to see how purchasing $500 billion in offshore carbon credits will help Tasmanian tourism.
“The government has begun to ‘pick winners’ under it’s carbon tax by offsetting the impacts on only selected businesses. For example, in the lead up to the Queensland election, the federal government reduced the visitor levy that applies to tourists visiting the Great Barrier Reef, but it has not offered a similar deal to the Spirit Of Tasmania.
The increased cost of living is a central concern of the Coalition’s and the impact this would have on Australians’ holiday plans. With 100 days to go before the introduction of the tax, Tasmanian tourism operators are still in the dark as to what further damage will be done to this State in terms of visitation from the mainland.
For over a year, Tasmanian Senator David Bushby has used Estimates to call for modelling on the impact of the Carbon Tax on tourism businesses, yet the government has steadfastly refused to undertake this work.
Mr Baldwin said “this morning’s meeting raised some interesting new tourism proposals and highlighted the importance of coherence between local, state and federal tourism strategies.
“This morning’s meeting highlighted the importance of effective marketing of Tasmania’s tourism potential, in a competitive national and international marketplace,” Mr Baldwin said.
“As an island nation, the challenges Australia faces globally are redoubled for Tasmania as a tourism destination; for example we’re not a “hub” and miss out on through traffic and we’re are a long flight or cruise for most tourists. Yet Australia and Tasmania prove time and again to tourists that it’s worth the trip.
“Andrew is a passionate advocate for Northern Tasmania, and I’m looking forward to other meetings he has organised for me with Josef Chromy wines and other tourism operations. As a former Adventure Tourism operator myself I always think its best to get out and speak directly to businesses impacted by government decision-making.
This visit also gives me the opportunity to reaffirm the Coalition’s commitment to dredging the Tamar River of its silt deposit and to discussing the Coalition’s direct action plans to reduce runoff.
ANDREW NIKOLIC AM, CSC LIBERAL CANDIDATE FOR BASS
