Industry bodies welcome Albanese government
Accommodation, hospitality & tourism industry bodies excited to work with new Labor government to drive success
Congratulating Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese on his party’s success in the general election, the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) says it looks forward to meeting Australia’s new tourism minister to successfully build on the opportunities the industry offers.
ATEC Managing Director Peter Shelley said there is much to be done in helping Australia’s export tourism industry to get back to its full success.
“We are looking forward to working alongside the Albanese Government in achieving this,” he said.
“Over the past two years ATEC has built a strong relationship with the Labor party, ensuring they are across the key issues being faced by our industry and we are confident the new ministry is well informed and ready to support tourism’s future.
“As an industry which delivered $45bn in revenue to our economy, export tourism is a valuable contributor which will help drive Australia’s future success.”
Mr Shelley said ATEC was keen to work with the new Government on export tourism priorities including visa policy and processing; Export Marketing Development Grants (EMDG); aviation access; workforce and skills, and insurance.
Australia’s hospitality and accommodation sectors are also looking forward to working with the Albanese Government to advance Labor’s election commitment of a $48 million tourism and travel package including $10m over two years in training and skills development.
The sector suffered a loss of 40 percent of the workforce nationally during COVID and this investment will go a long way in helping to attract, educate and re-train 100,000 staff to fill the gap and support recovery.
Michael Johnson, CEO Tourism Accommodation Australia said: “I congratulate the incoming Prime Minister and his team and look forward to working closely on issues of vital importance to the accommodation sector such as the current labour shortage crisis.
“We have worked closely in recent months with Shadow Tourism and Sport Minister Senator Don Farrell – and the other relevant ministries – and have developed a strong working relationship.
“We look forward to seeing the new government quickly introduce its pre-election commitments including $10m in support for employment and training and initiatives to encourage Australians to work in the tourism, hospitality and accommodation sectors.”
Richard Munro, CEO Accommodation Association of Australia said: “Our members are looking forward to working with the new Albanese government and recognise and support Labor’s election commitments and priorities, especially in relation to the Accommodation Association’s ‘The Hub’, our own innovative one stop shop for training, recruitment and upskilling.
“There are a number of economic challenges ahead and it’s more important than ever that the private sector work closely with Government as part of the solution to accelerate the visitor economy. This is exactly what we intend to do on behalf of our members.
“We also acknowledge the very strong message made by voters and reflected in Prime Minister Albanese’s statements on the importance of advancing and supporting a greater and more balanced role for women and greater diversity including in leadership. We as an organisation support and applaud this.”
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