reprinted from: Australian Financial Review
Tourism chiefs call for restraint
By Jane Boyle Tourism and travel leaders yesterday urged the Federal Government not to impose further taxes on the industry to pay for increased security measures after the Bali atrocities. Speaking at an industry briefing yesterday, the head of the Tourism Task Force, Chris Brown, and Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey warned the industry could not afford to bear a disproportionate amount of the cost. Australian air travellers have been hit by a 60 per cent increase in airport taxes and government charges since September 11 and the collapse of Ansett, including a $10 levy on tickets to fund entitlements to ex-Ansett staff. "This is a national security issue and demands a national revenue response," Mr Brown said. He called on Tourism Minister Joe Hockey to convene a meeting of security, defence, immigration, foreign affairs, transport and police agencies to address risk assessment in conjunction with the tourism industry. Special adviser to the Secretary General of the UN-affiliated World Tourism Organisation Geoffrey Lipman flew to Canberra yesterday to meet with Mr Hockey and will also meet with Indonesia's Tourism Minister. Mr Brown said there had been no discernible drop in interest in Australia as a destination since the Bali attacks. However, he called on federal and state tourist commissions and other industry groups to develop a marketing strategy to promote Australia as a "safe haven". He said Australians travellers were particularly resilient and likely to lead a return to Bali. "I believe that by the middle of next year Bali will be substantially up and going strongly again," he said. Heavy discounting is expected to stimulate demand for travel to Bali. "The old joke is [Australians will] fly to the middle of a war if there's a cheap airfare," Mr Brown said. Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Mike Hatton was also optimistic about a recovery. "Depending on government advisories, I think Bali will bounce back quickly," he said. Mr Lipman said the tourism industry must adopt a new forecasting framework. He said the latest atrocities showed the
tourism industry must "adapt faster, further and more radically than we've
ever considered before". |