Good morning and thank you Ashely Saltner for the Welcome to Country.
I begin by acknowledging the Bindal and Wulgurukaba people, the traditional custodians of the land on which we gather today. I pay my respects to their elders past and present, and I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.
I want to thank Claudia Brumme, and Townsville Enterprise for hosting the forum today. It's wonderful to be here with so many leaders of the tourism industry, looking to the future of tourism in North Queensland, and in Australia.
I see a few familiar faces here today that I had the chance to catch up with at the Queensland Tourism Awards last Friday night in Brisbane – another great event that really highlights how incredible our great state is when it comes to the visitor economy.
In Townsville, and North Queensland as a whole, you know the importance of tourism. The tourism industry in Townsville makes up just over 5 per cent of the economy, bringing in over one billion dollars in Gross Regional Product in 2023-24.
In 2024 alone, the region welcomed 2.5 million domestic and international visitors. These numbers show just how important Townsville and North Queensland are as tourism drivers, not just for Queensland, but for the whole country.
As a former Special Envoy to the Great Barrier Reef, and in my personal capacity as someone who loves spending family time on Magnetic Island, the value of this region is clear to me.
Events like the Tourism Futures Forum provide crucial opportunities to hear from you, as the drivers of our visitor economy.
In my role as the newly established Assistant Minister for Tourism, I have had the privilege to attend several industry forums in the past few months, including just down the road in Mackay in September, meeting with tourism industry and community leaders in the Mackay and Whitsundays region.
And just last week, I was in Darwin speaking with a range of local tourism operators. At these events, I've picked up some recurring themes. In the tourism sector, you love your work, and the passion that you bring to this industry is always on display. It is an industry that is all about people.
Almost a year ago Townsville flooded. Homes, businesses and farms inundated with water. I don't have to remind the people in this room about the impacts of those floods. I know from experience in my home of Cairns that recovery can be slow, but banding together as a community, and bringing together all levels of Government and industry is how you can ensure that you build back better.
And what better example of that than the Up for Unexpected Campaign launched in September. Bringing together Council, TEQ, TEL and both the State and Federal Government.
This campaign is the region's largest ever tourism campaign, aimed at bringing visitors from across the country, and letting them know that Townsville - and North Queensland - is open for business.
Of course, there's also the Building Resilient Tourism Infrastructure Fund which opened in June of this year to eligible impacted tourism businesses in North Queensland
We know that the best way to recover after businesses are impacted by a natural disaster is to open their doors sooner, and this fund goes a long way in ensuring businesses are more resilient.
The one big thing that draws visitors to Townsville, to Queensland, and to Australia is the incredible Great Barrier Reef.
Which is why I was so proud to stand next to the Prime Minister a few months back during the election campaign and announce that our government would again back the tourism industry through a 10 million dollars Reef Educational Experience Fund.
- $6 million of this fund is dedicated to a Kids for the Reef rebate program, which will help schools across the country send their students on excursions to the Reef.
- $1 million will be spent to help Reef tourism operators with the costs of upgrades, checks and clearances needed for the school trips.
- And $3 million is for a marketing campaign to support and drive sustainable international visitation to the Reef.
This builds on the $180 million that our Government has invested in Reef HQ. A project that will deliver more than 720 million dollars in economic benefit for Townsville over 30 years and bring with it more than 1300 jobs.
The community fought hard for this project – to bring the Reef to the community and the tourists who come to visit – now it is time to back it in and get behind it.
And, of course, there is the $1.2 billion that the Australian Government is delivering to ensure that the Reef is protected, alongside the 77,000 jobs that rely on it.
At the same time, the Albanese Government is working tirelessly to position Australia as a world-class destination. The second phase of our global Come and say G'day campaign is going well, showcasing Australia to international markets. Ruby the Roo has been doing a great job, but Robert Irwin – hasn't he been a smash hit!
The campaign has been launching in key tourism markets around the world, encouraging international travellers to book a holiday to Australia. I had the honour of launching the Japanese campaign in September.
Our relationship with Japan is a special and important one – and it was an excellent opportunity to strengthen this tie and participate in the launch of the next exciting chapter of this campaign to entice Japanese travellers to visit us.
This second chapter of the campaign will bring the total investment in Come and Say G'day to 255 million dollars since 2022.
While there are a lot of opportunities for the tourism industry, there are still challenges and more to do – including addressing workforce and skills shortages.
We know this is an industry where people are at the cornerstone – it's people who make this industry thrive. The success of every hotel, restaurant, and visitor experience depends on the passion and professionalism of those who work in it.
We also know there are pressures being faced by the industry about having the right people, at the right time, to fill a skilled workforce, and we take this seriously.
As a government:
- We have introduced 14 new occupations, including Travel Consultant, to the Townsville North Queensland Designated Area Migration Agreement to support workforce availability in Townsville. Thank you to Townsville Enterprise for the work you do on behalf of the community with our government on the DAMA.
- We are offering Fee-Free TAFE places which include tourism and hospitality courses.
- We have invested in the establishment of Service and Creative Skills Australia, a Jobs and Skills Council that is charged with reviewing and improving the training outcomes for tourism and hospitality qualifications.
- We've launched the new 'eeger' online platform, a free employment and skills free platform to connect jobseekers and employers connect more easily than ever before.
- The Australian Tourism Industry Council launched the Quality Tourism eLearning Hub in September, which was developed thanks to an $8 million Australian Government investment.
And I know there are many in the industry, including people in this room, who are doing their fair share to attract, to skill up, to retain their workers to ensure they are meeting the needs of our visitors.
I'd like to acknowledge that – and thank you for doing what you do to ensure visitors leave our region with wonderful memories.
Through these initiatives, we are supporting more Australians will develop the skills to succeed in the tourism industry.
Because what a brilliant career you can have in this sector. Gone are the days of tourism being a "fill-in" job – something you as a backpacker, or while you're at uni. It has become a professional, skilful career. Once you have the skills and training that you need to work in tourism, you can work almost anywhere in Australia.
Industry leaders have made clear the critical role workforce availability plays in North Queensland's economic growth, and we are listening.
To wrap up, thank you once again for the invitation to be here today. I look forward to hearing your insights on the future of tourism and the outcomes from today's sessions – but also to continuing this dialogue moving forward.
By working together, we will ensure our tourism industry remains strong, that it is as resilient as can be, and that our visitors leave this region having had an incredible experience. And in this important 'green and gold' decade, working together is more important than ever as we prepare the country for the Brisbane Olympics in 2032 and all the opportunities that come with it.
Thank you.