Morrison government’s $76m tourism recovery plan a ‘job-saving package’

Government announces $76m recovery package aimed at halting alarming decline in overseas tourist bookings following bushfire crisis.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Simon Birmingham. Picture: Kym Smith

The Morrison government has announced a $76 million tourism recovery package aimed at halting an alarming decline in international bookings in the wake of Australia’s bushfire crisis.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said with bookings from key international markets down by as much as 30 to 40 per cent, the package was vital to protecting jobs, small businesses and local economies.

The $76 million package — flagged by The Australian yesterday — includes $20 million for a nationally co-ordinated domestic marketing initiative and $25 million for a global marketing campaign to bring international tourists back to Australia.

“This is a campaign for those (bushfire-affected) communities but also for the entire Australian tourism industry,” Mr Birmingham told Channel 9 this morning.

Evacuees from the Victorian south coast tourist township of Mallacoota are assisted by defence force staff. Picture: Wayne Taylor

“We’ve committed funds out of this $76 million initiative so that those fire-affected communities can … get funding to put on new events, new festivals to make new installations, be they art installations or other attractions to help get people back into those communities, as they rebuild.

“Importantly we have funding to drive the tourism message right across Australia. That’s critical because what we’re seeing in the key international markets at present is a downturn in bookings to Australia between 30 and 40 per cent in many instances. So, it’s not just those tourism businesses in fire affected communities who are hurting. We have businesses in Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia who are reporting cancellations, reporting big downturns in bookings and we have to make sure we get people travelling across the length and breadth of this country again as quickly as possible.”

Green shoots amid the ashes

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The announcement came as a cruise ship arrived at Kangaroo Island, the first to visit the island since it was devastated in the fires. Sun Princess, owned by Princess Cruises, dropped passengers off at the island on Sunday morning.

Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly told Cruise Passenger magazine: “The Sun Princess will inject a huge amount of confidence for the local community. We’ll be delighted to see it arrive at the Penneshaw port and we welcome visitors back with open arms”.

Princess Cruises’ 2000-guest Sun Princess has just become the first cruise ship to return to Kangaroo Island since the fires. pic.twitter.com/kgLp3hgGF6

— Rachel Baxendale (@rachelbaxendale) January 18, 2020

Mr Birmingham said with one in 13 Australian jobs dependent on tourism, the package was as much a “job-saving package” as it was a tourism industry package.

“The funding for international visits is overwhelmingly an education piece that will be targeted at visiting journalists, visiting media, making sure we get the story back internationally that Australia is open for business, that the vast majority of our nation is untouched by bushfires and that tourists can still come and have the same amazing experience in Australia that we’ve all prided ourselves in giving them,” he said.

“I don’t expect much, if any of it, to go in terms of the types of celebrities that are being spoken of. It’s about a big educational push to make sure people are well aware of the fact

they can still come to Australia, stay in our properties, create jobs for Australians in doing that and of course have a wonderful time while they’re here.”