Page 3064 - Week 09 - Thursday, 21 September 2006
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In terms of promoting the event, Australian Capital Tourism has produced a 16-page full colour newspaper insert and 150,000 copies have been or are in the process of being distributed through rural press publications throughout regional New South Wales. The publication highlights all of the activities in Canberra over the September to December period. The insert includes information on Floriade, retail shopping, food and wine activities and events that will be held at national attractions.
In addition, obviously, to ensuring that the quality event that is Floriade is delivered this year, we have already begun working on plans for the 2007 event, to ensure that Floriade continues to be renewed and revitalised and provides a compelling reason to continue to visit Canberra. Australian Capital Tourism is working with the industry to ensure that there is maximum benefit to the ACT from Floriade visitors.
Whilst Floriade is our premier event, it is just one of the wonderful events in our tourism calendar. This year, through the ACT government’s event assistance program, we will be supporting 16 events, with funding going towards promotion, research and business development activities that will increase visitor numbers. In addition, an extra $234,000 will go this year towards six events that receive multiyear funding, including the National Folk Festival, the Canberra Balloon Fiesta and the Kanga Cup.
Funding is provided in three categories: flagship events, which are events that already have a significant impact on visitation; core events, those which are already established on the events calendar but which could increase visitation; and developing events which are in the concept or developmental phase. Events that we will be supporting include the Canberra marathon, the Canberra international chamber music festival, the national futsal championships, the triathlon festival, the junior chess festival, the Australian mountain bike championships, the long weekend regional girls carnival, the 2007 Australia Day softball carnival, the Australian showjumping championships, the Kookaburra Cup, the national oztag championships and the capital youth games.
These combine to contribute to a well-rounded tourism events calendar throughout the whole year and they are events that keep people coming to the ACT. Of course, these are not the only events that the government supports on our tourism calendar. We have a range of other fantastic events, such as the National Multicultural Festival which is held each year and attracts many people from interstate and overseas to the territory.
As previous speakers have alluded to, tourism is very important to the ACT. There is no doubt that it brings new money to the territory. The estimates are that in the order of $757 million is annually injected directly and indirectly into the economy. By stimulating demand, tourism provides employment for around 6.5 per cent of our work force, with about 11,500 Canberrans being employed directly or indirectly as a result of tourism. However, it is important to note that at this time the domestic tourism outlook across Australia is relatively flat.
There are a number of reasons for that, some of which the government is able to influence and some of which it is not. Petrol prices, as I have mentioned, rising interest rates and the increase in spending on home-based products instead of tourism have had an impact on the domestic tourism market. But it is my pleasure to inform the Assembly that the ACT has been the only jurisdiction to be able to buck this national trend of
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