Page 1477 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 6 June 2007
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MR BARR: I will have to take on notice the detail of the 6.15, but they relate to support for Stromlo Forest Park and a number of other venues and events that are run through the Department of Territory and Municipal Services. All of this money is within territory and municipal services. It has, of course, been kept within that department.
Venues and events have reported to me, as Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation. There is, again, no change in the reporting lines. It is simply that there is a very close alignment between events and tourism, and the particular initiatives that the government has put forward in relation to such venues as Stromlo Forest Park have a very clear tourism objective. It underpins our support, for example, for the 2009 world mountain bike championships, an event that, when held in New Zealand in 2006, attracted 30,000 to 40,000 international visitors to Rotorua. So we are very much looking forward to hosting the 2009 world mountain bike championships at what is a world-class venue in Stromlo Forest Park, a venue in which this government has invested $7.5 million.
Another key initiative in the budget was the announcement of the Rob de Castella invitational cross-country event, another new event on the Canberra sporting and tourism calendar. It is a very good and welcome initiative. It comes on the day that Tourism Research Australia released some figures on international visitation. I am very pleased to advise the Assembly of a 2.7 per cent increase in tourism visitation to the ACT—
Mrs Dunne: Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. The minister can make a statement at any time. The question was about the specific sum of money in the budget. If the minister wants to make a statement about tourism numbers, he can seek leave on another occasion.
MR SPEAKER: Answer the question, Mr Barr.
MR BARR: Thank you, Mr Speaker. The money that we are investing in tourism is delivering fantastic returns. I thank Mrs Dunne for identifying the fact that the number of visitor nights by international visitors, as registered by Tourism Research Australia, has increased from 1.8 million to seven million in the year ending March 2006, up to a whopping 2.267 million visitor nights; that the average length of stay for international visitors has increased from 11.5 to 14.9 nights and that the direct expenditure into the ACT economy from international visitors has increased from $156 million in the year ending March 2006 to $190 million in the year ending March 2007.
Can I say that it is particularly pleasing that in the areas where we have been targeting our marketing efforts and the tourism dollars that Mr Smyth is so concerned about, particularly the key markets of Singapore and Malaysia, we have seen an increase of 8.4 per cent in those markets—well above the overall increase of 2.7 per cent. I note Mr Mulcahy’s ongoing interest in the backpacker market, and I am pleased to advise that our investment in tourism has seen an 11.5 per cent increase in the number of international backpackers visiting the capital in the year ending March 2007, up to nearly 38,000, which is fantastic.
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