ATEC has today welcomed the West Australian Government’s announcement of an additional $9m investment of new marketing money to boost international visitation to the State.“This money will allow Tourism WA to take on strong and tactical marketing campaigns that will engage and convert international visitors to the state,” Australian Tourism Export Council Managing Director, Peter Shelley said today.
ATEC also welcomes the timing of this announcement, with the Australian Tourism Exchange to be held in Perth next month, where international wholesalers gather to be updated on the best of Australia’s export tourism products.
“This proactive approach by the WA Government is a display of confidence in the local tourism industry and the international travel trade.”
Mr Shelley urged the Federal Government to take a similar approach in increasing funding to Tourism Australia as our primary marketing body on the global stage.
“We know Australia is facing tough competition in attracting international visitors. We are being outspent by many of our main country competitors so we congratulate the WA Government on this investment and the benefits it will bring to the state’s economy.
“Tourism marketing investment delivers high returns and we would urge the Federal government to follow suit and invest more in the marketing of destination Australia but providing additional new funding for Tourism Australia.
“Funding for Tourism Australia’s marketing campaigns has been stuck for almost 20 years while the cost of advertising in our key markets has grown considerably – we are just not investing enough to keep up with the competition.
“In the lead up to the Federal Election, we urge major parties to invest in our promising tourism industry by following the lead of the WA Government and invest more into Tourism Australia’s marketing campaigns.”
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