Launch of VisitVineyards.com Membership program by the Hon Martin Ferguson
Launch of VisitVineyards.com membership program by the Hon. Martin Ferguson [©Getty Images]
To our distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, may I firstly say how much more convivial that this is than the floor of the House yesterday afternoon. I might also indicate that I have responsibility for resources and energy but it’s far more beautiful looking out there than an iron ore pit which I regularly see from time to time.
Well, seriously my friends, may I say it’s lovely to be here today. And from my department’s point of view and also from the point of view of the government, events such as this are very important to us because they enable us to send a very strong message to the Australian community that tourism is a key section of the Australian community and for too long it’s just been seen as an add-on compared to industries such as the financial sector, manufacturing resources and energy. Our capacity to sell those services internationally in the context of considering the importance of tourism and industry that’s active and undervalued historically, is important in the context of how significant tourism is to the Australian economy.
I point out today that tourism for Australia is just under 4% of our GDP. More importantly it employs directly more about 480,000 Australians and many of them are employed in regional Australia, and tourism is the lifeblood of those local communities.
When you go to regional Australia you find it’s made up of small and medium sized businesses, a lot of families who put a huge amount of effort into trying to make a living but also promote the local region and work with others in the local region.
That is what today is about and that’s why I’m pleased to say the Australian Government is extremely proud of the project which you’re responsible for and which we’ve been able to make contribution towards through the Regional Tourism Development Program.
If you haven’t visited the site already, the VisitVineyards.com site, can I recommend it to you? It is exactly the type of resource which regional tourism needs. It’s about making your opportunities available to both the domestic and international community in a way in which they can access the value nature of your local opportunities. It’s about facilitating the sharing of information and experiences among food and wine enthusiasts and ensuring that they get the most out of each region. I say that because I think the importance of the food and wine industry in terms of tourism has been undersold in the past.
Tourism is just not about the number of people in Australia who are touring or alternatively the number of people who come from overseas. It’s also about yield, and high-yield tourists are a very important ingredient in the Australian community. They come here, they want a particular experience and tend to spend quite a few dollars. The food and wine section of the tourism industry is exceptionally important in terms of attracting high-yield tourists to Australia from overseas.
And to facilitate that, regional tourism information is vital. It’s about the community understanding that you[r products] exist and VisitVineyards.com leaves no stone unturned in that objective. [VisitVineyards.com] takes you to all the special hideaways and secret treasures and no provider is too small in the context of ... joining this website.
There are 30,000 participating businesses [already listed] who provide unique coverage of the country’s best wine food and travel and importantly one hundred of these businesses are here in the Mornington Peninsula, and that’s why we’re here today.
Tourism Australia, which I have responsibility for, is excited about the project, so is the Australian Government, so is the Victorian Government and more importantly so is your local region.
I’m told that (nearly) 20,000 subscribers have already signed up ... and that’s a terrific achievement... [VisitVineyards.com] has made the task of researching that well-earned break easy and I say in the context of ... yourselves that is exceptionally important because one of our problems in Australia is that we have, as a nation, a huge amount of accumulated unused annual leave and long service leave.
We’ve got to try and get through a message to business that it’s your responsibility to encourage your workforce to have a holiday. And what we want to make sure is that they have a holiday in Australia. And I say that because in the context of the international market at the moment it’s very difficult to get Australians to stay at home. One of the reasons is we’ve got a strong Australian dollar. Who would have thought 10 years ago Australians going to Japan for a holiday. You cannot move now, for example, on the skifields during the Japanese winter for Australians.
So one of our challenges - and it’s the responsibility of Tourism Australia – is to work with the industry, including state and federal governments to get through to managers and business leaders that it’s their responsibility to encourage people to have a short break or a long break and to have it in Australia.
The [offers and itineraries] that [VisitVineyards.com] put in place enable people to access the information at short notice and think about visiting one of these key wine and food regions. So I simply say that the program that we’re launching today is needed both by industry and the Australian community.
It also fits well into the Australian Government’s long term tourism package which is about attending to supply side issues. It’s just not good enough to promote Australia domestically and internationally in terms of having a holiday, it’s also about overcoming some of the supply-side issues. Infrastructure, access to information about tourism products, supply of labour, what we’re doing on migration, holiday visas, all those associated issues which are so important to maintain a vital and viable tourism industry in Australia.
So can I say ladies and gentlemen, that what we’ve got today is a must-see destination website – it’s about added knowledge of what this destination can offer. It’s also about promoting regional tourism. It’s about ensuring that we just don’t get people into the capital cities but also we give greater dispersal of the dollar into the regional communities because that’s where a lot of these small and medium-sized businesses are. It’s just not about the big tourist operators of our capital cities, it’s about making sure that we’ve got strong, vibrant, local, regional communities.
For that reason the tourism listing venture that the people here today are responsible for was able to gain the support of the Australian Government to the tune of a grant of $75,000 through the Regional Tourism program. So can I say on behalf of all of you, thanks to VisitVineyards.com, visitors can now craft an itinerary to suit their specific interests - whether it’s visiting a winery, staying overnight at a secluded retreat or sampling home-made chocolates, cheeses, olives or wine as I’ve had the opportunity to do today.
The site guarantees that both travelers and providers get the best out of a fantastic regional food and wine experience and also experience the diverse range of tourism experiences throughout Australia.
So I say to Robyn Lewis and the staff and team, congratulations on a job well done. It’s not only a good business, it’s an exceptionally good business opportunity for Australia as a nation. I wish you all the very best for the future.
I thank you all for your attendance today and more importantly I thank you for your support and can I simply say on behalf of the Australian Government, please keep up the good work because we need vibrant, strong, local businesses in local communities that creates prosperity and guarantee a very exceptional opportunity in ... these local communities.
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