Tourism industry slams budget

THE Tourism Council of WA has strongly criticised last week’s State Budget.

Funding to the WA Tourism Commission in this budget is down slightly, to $39.38 million from $39.48 million last year.

But Tourism Council of WA president Ron Buckey said Geoff Gallop’s comments that tourism was the “second economic front” was little more than rhetoric given the budget figures.

The industry has been lobbying the Government for a significant financial boost for several years.

It is estimated that, in 2001-02, the WA tourism industry directly accounted for $2.2 billion (3.5 per cent) of WA’s Gross State Product.

“The net effect of the Government’s failure of responsibility to the tourism industry will be a reduction in the level and quality of marketing to attract more visitors to Western Australia,” Mr Buckey said. 

“There will be an inevitable reduction in visitor numbers resulting in a reduction in GDP, less revenue to treasury and a subsequent rise in taxes and charges to every householder to make up the shortfall.”

The WA tourism industry has struggled with several setbacks in recent years, including SARS, the Bali bombings, war in Iraq and the collapse of Ansett.