Local Government & Tourism

The LGA Economic Development Statement identifies 11 tourism as a priority role for councils to

create and progress opportunities to develop a prosperous local economy. Local government’s

prioritisation of tourism aligns with Federal and State government priorities which identify tourism as a

key future growth industry in Australia.

The Federal Government’s ‘Tourism 2020 Strategy’

Tourism Australia is the Government agency responsible for attracting international visitors to

Australia, both for leisure and business events. The organisation is active in around 16 key markets,

and activities include advertising, PR and media programs, trade shows and industry programs,

consumer promotions, online communications and consumer research. Like the SATC, Tourism

Australia is governed by a board of directors which reports to the Minister for Tourism, Steven Ciobo

MP. The Assistant Minister is Keith Pitt MP.

Tourism is listed as one of five ‘super-sectors’ for national economic development and Tourism 2020

is Australia's national strategy to enhance growth and competitiveness in the tourism industry by

focusing on six strategic areas to:

grow demand from Asia

build competitive digital capability

encourage investment and implement regulatory reform agenda

ensure tourism transport environment supports growth

increase supply of labour, skills and indigenous participation

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build industry resilience, productivity and quality

Tourism 2020 ‘strategy messages’ include:

Tourism employs 8.1% of Australia’s workforce

Tourism is Australia’s number one services export industry

Australia’s tourism ministers introduced four policy priorities to guide tourism industry growth:

o high quality experiences

o cutting red tape

o developing infrastructure

o effective marketing

The State Government’s ‘Tourism Plan 2020’

One of Premier Weatherill’s 10 economic priorities is ‘a growing destination choice for international

and domestic travellers’.

The SATC’s Tourism Plan 2020 outlines five ‘Priority Action Areas that are triggers for growth’, as

shown below:

driving demand;

working better together;

supporting what we have;

increasing recognition of the value of tourism; and

using events to drive visitation.

Of particular relevance to Local Government are the following excerpts:

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Priority Action Areas Actions

Working better together

Continue to build clarity around stakeholders’ roles and

make the most of available resources, particularly with

industry associations as well as RTOs and LGAs.

Increasing recognition of the value of

tourism

Develop relevant messages on the value of tourism to

the economy at state, regional and local level and

disseminate widely.

Develop case studies that clearly demonstrate the value

of tourism and return from tourism investment.

Encourage locals to become advocates for tourism and

thereby actively drive the ‘Visiting Friends and Relatives’

market, improving community pride, supporting Local

Government and community approaches that welcome

tourism to their place (from planning through to festivals)

and recognising and facilitating the links between their

own work and tourism to foster the outcomes of this

Plan.

Ensure decision makers, both public and private, have

the research and insights on tourism to make the best

decisions for their situation.

Using events to grow visitation Encourage visitors to disperse around South Australia

through regional events and festivals.

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The Plan also ‘lists’ the ‘role of key stakeholders’, including Local Government as follows:

work with the RTOs on specific activities, including festivals and events, investment attraction and

marketing

support the provision of visitor information through VICs

foster local community capacity to be ambassadors for visitors in their area

work with the tourism industry to help it deliver the social and economic outcomes to help create

resilient and thriving local communities

take into account the value of tourism to the local area in broader decision-making

Councils are effectively responsible for the ‘supply side’ of tourism, providing infrastructure necessary

for a quality tourism experience such as boat ramps, visitor information centres and signage. Many

also actively market their regions specifically to tourists.

Councils contribute significantly to tourism in many ways and they report annually on their expenditure

categorised as 'Tourism and Regional Promotion' to the Local Government Grants Commission

(LGGC), which is defined as the operation and support of:

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tourist information services

tourist attractions and facilities

tourist promotion

tourism boards and committees

museums, art galleries, heritage sites and events/festivals with the principal purpose of economic

development/attracting visitors and tourism

What goes largely unreported is Local Government expenditure on tourism infrastructure, such as

signage as well as other infrastructure that

likely serves many market segments but is

attractive to tourists, such as boat ramps,

trails, lookouts, amenities, and so on. South

Australian councils’ expenditure on tourism

and regional promotion in 2013-2014 was

$20million in regional SA and $10million in

metropolitan Adelaide, for a total of

$30million, and growing.

It is widely acknowledged that $30million is a

gross underestimation and not likely to

account for all Local Government tourism

expenditure. Being able to demonstrate to

key partners and stakeholders the significant

investment Local Government makes in

tourism would likely attract increased support

for increased tourism development.

Other tourism stakeholders include RDAs,

RTOs, VICs and industry itself, for which role

clarity is often also an issue.

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