The Australian Tourist Commission gets $38 million over four years for overseas marketing. $10 million will be provided for a national ecotourism strategy.
The Budget provides $42 million over four years for a Tourism Forecasting Council and to develop tourism in “”regional and rural Australia”, according to a statement issued with the Budget papers by the Minister for Tourism, Michael Lee. It would help the rural, backpacker and cruise-ship markets.
Mr Lee said there was “”a need to create jobs and long-term alternatives to a largely agricultural economic base.”
Applications for the first round of rural and regional tourist grants would be sought next month.
Mr Lee said that 174,000 backpackers came to Australian in 1990 with an average stay of 90 days. They spent an average of $3557 compared to an average of $1859 for all visitors. The government support would help provide better accommodation information to backpackers. On ecotourism, he said a draft strategy would be released for public comment in the near future.
The extra money for overseas marketing was recognition of tourism’s contribution to foreign exchange earnings. In 1992-93 it was $8 billion or 11 per cent of export earnings.