The recent rise in the Australia dollar has caused concern for tourism industry members, with the Australian Tourism Export Council stating that the nation’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry is under increasing pressure. According to the Managing Director of the council, Matthew Hingerty, the high Australian dollar not only makes the country a more expensive tourist destination, but it also encourages Australians to travel overseas- decreasing levels of national tourism.
“Recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show relatively flat growth in inbound visitor numbers of 2.8 percent coupled with booming outbound travel, which has increased 11.9 percent this year,” said Hingerty.
“With the consensus amongst economists that the Australian dollar will remain high, this is concerning for our tourism industry which is finding it increasingly difficult to compete against cheaper overseas destinations.”
Hingerty has encouraged government and industry members to create new ways of attracting visitors to increase tourism growth, suggesting that the industry needs to work more on developing its competitive edge on quality and less on price.
“We need to invest more in developing new markets, products and experiences which are uniquely Australian, which provide value-for-money and which create an irrefutable proposition for Australia,” said Hingerty. “Nowhere else in the world however can you find our unique natural and cultural heritage and it is these experiences that we need to capitalise on.
“There are also a range of markets such as health tourism and indigenous tourism that we could be putting more effort into growing,” added Hingerty.Does the high dollar make you think this is the time to travel overseas? Or do you think this will have minimal impact on the domestic travel market? Let us know. Everyone that comments on our blog entries goes into the draw to win an Ocean and Earth 65 litre Travel Backpack valued at over $120. Please include your email address in your comment to go into the draw.
