AUSTRALIA’S most expensive tours are going to get cheaper this year as part of a massive government investment into the nation’s tourism industry.
Treasurer Scott Morrison has announced the government will double the amount of money tourists can spend on their Australia-bound excursions this year.
Key points:Treasurery will triple the amount that tourists can earn on tours from $20,000 to $50,000A total of 18,000 people will be on the Australia-to-New Zealand tour from August to OctoberTreasurers also announced a $15 million boost to the state and territory tourist industryTourism is one of the biggest employers in the state, with a third of the economy according to the Tourism Industry Council of Australia (TICA).
But the government’s tourism strategy has seen a massive cut in government funding.
Under the Government Tourism Investment Strategy, the Government will spend $1.6 billion on tourism in 2021-22, down from the $1 billion the Government had planned for the year.
“We’re seeing significant growth in tourist numbers, but the Government is cutting back on what they can spend to attract them,” said Tourism Minister Nick Minchin.
“There’s been a big reduction in Government funding, which is going to affect the business of tourism, and we’re working hard to improve our performance in attracting tourism.”
The Government is also reducing the amount the State Government can spend per person on travel to the US, New Zealand, Canada, Australia and Mexico.
The tourism strategy includes a new $1 million grant for tourism to US states and territories, $400 million for New Zealand and $200 million for Canada.
TRAVEL AND TRAVEL TRIPS Treasureries plan to double the number of Australian travellers who can travel on excursions from around 20,000 in 2021 to 100,000 this year, from 15,000.
Treasury Minister Scott Morrison says he wants to boost the tourist industry by increasing the number tourists visiting Australia.
“The Government wants to ensure we get more Australians travelling and that we’re not losing a lot of our key tourism industries to overseas competition,” Mr Morrison said.
“So we’ve made some big changes to our visa policy so that people coming to Australia are able to stay in the country for as long as they want.”
The government is also boosting the amount tourists can make on travel tours from around 10,000 for a total of 80,000 trips in 2021.
The changes will see a significant increase in the number people who can earn the equivalent of around $80,000 per trip, which means it will be possible for people to make up to $150,000 on a one-off trip in Australia.
The Government will also increase the amount a tourist can earn for a single trip from $10,000 up to around $150 per person.
“It’s going to give more tourists the opportunity to go on longer trips with a larger number of people,” Mr Minchin said.
Treasures to help the tourism industryIn a move to boost tourism, the Federal Government has announced an additional $150 million will be spent over three years on the state tourism agency, TIA.
The funding will see the agency get $50 million more for planning and operation.
The government also plans to double TICA’s budget to $200,000 by 2021-18.
Treasurerer Scott Morrison said the Government was determined to support the tourism sector.
“I’m determined to see the tourism economy thrive,” Mr Mitchell said.
Topics:travel-and-tourism,travel-industry,government-and
