Page 560 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 20 March 1990
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I read Macklin's article with some amusement when he detailed the efforts of a so-called gang of five to improve the position of tourism in Canberra. Some of these people have been conspicuous in their absence in bringing the industry together and there has been a lot of talk in the tourism area over the past nine months about how the industry will step in and take over the Government's role. In some cases this talk has amounted to very little action. There has, on the other hand, been a lot of action by the government sector through the Tourist Bureau, including developing the concept of an ACT tourism commission.
The list of achievements by the bureau over the last couple of years is quite impressive. I am just going to give you an idea of the activities that the bureau is engaged in: the establishment of the ACT tourism awards; the development of Australia's first ever multicultural marketing strategy which has been a great success; the development of an innovative youth marketing campaign which caters for over 106,000 visitors each year; a comprehensive direct mail campaign to market Canberra as a convention destination; the production of a world class convention and promotions book; the production of attractive and professional print and radio advertising campaigns in-house; and weekly promotional campaigns at trade shows and shopping centres throughout New South Wales, Victoria and overseas.
This is not the place to complete this list. However, I can assure you it is most impressive. If you would like to talk in terms of the bottom line, the bureau has seen massive sales increases, particularly in its State offices, as well as significant increases in visitor numbers for the ACT. In an effort to give the industry every opportunity to assist itself, the Government has provided $60,000 over the past financial year in direct funding to the CVCB - the Canberra Visitors Convention Bureau - together with a further $40,000 in-kind support. Whilst I appreciate that the CVCB has had to go through a period of restructuring, the Government feels it is time for that body to demonstrate some action and to support the government sector through the tourism bureau.
I return to some of the scurrilous statements made by Macklin in this article. He suggests that all positions in the current Tourist Bureau will be subject to a spill. This is not correct - as a matter of fact it is totally incorrect. When the Government implements its policy to create a tourist commission, we will not automatically discard the great depth of experience and expertise that lies within the present bureau. We will, however, on advice from the new commissioners, assess the nature and structure of the commission, and should any subsequent restructure lead to any present member being without a position, that person will be absorbed within the ACT administration.
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