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New US pitch for visitors
TRAVELCONSUMERDAILY.COM AUSTRALIA’S tourism lobby has warned the country faces a formidable new competitor as the US, backed by its national government – which rarely gets involved in tourism – assembles a $US200 million warchest to spend on attracting back the visitors it has lost in the past decade. The Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) was commenting on the December 2009 results of the International Visitor Survey, which shows international arrivals to Australia steady compared to the previous year. While 5.17 million people (over the age of 15) came to Australia in 2009, the same as in 2008, Australia has effectively increased its international market share because global travel demand dropped an estimated 4 per cent in 2009. But TTF executive director Brett Gale said Australia would soon face increased competition from the US, thanks to the Travel Promotion Act, which will slug most travellers to America $US10 each to help pay for a new promotion campaign. "The United States has long been a major travel destination," Mr Gale said, "but this program will see Washington fund international marketing of the US for the first time. "This program will help pay for a $200 million campaign which will present a huge challenge to other destinations – including Australia. "The Australian Government has long funded international marketing of Australia as a tourism destination and that commitment will now be more important than ever, in the face of a concerted, government backed campaign promoting America’s unique sights and attractions." Mr Gale said the Travel Promotion Act will significantly boost the United States’ already strong appeal. "Air capacity between Australia and the US increased substantially over the past 12 months, thanks to new carriers competing on the Pacific route," he said. "Even without US government investment in marketing, the US was able to increase Australian visitors by 15.2 per cent in 2009, while Australia only increased American visitors by 5.6 per cent. "What will a $200 million campaign do? "Remarkably, given the difference in population, 567,000 Australians visited the United States in 2009 while just 479,800 Americans visited Australia. "The impact of this new marketing effort could see that imbalance blow out even further and Australia will need to be alert as to the potential effect of increased promotion of the US as a destination." Comment on this article |
