We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples and the Traditional Custodians of Ngunnawal Country, the land on which we meet today. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and also recognise any other people or families with connection to the ACT and Region.
Andrew Barr – ACT Chief Minister and ACT Tourism Minister, on a future Labor Government’s commitment to our sectors.
With the Territory election being 44 days away, there is a chance this may be Mr Barr’s last forum.
Mr Barr reflected on the Canberra’s Tourism industry's growth through the pandemic and the Government’s commitment to seek partnership with the Tourism Industry to grow the visitor economy to an economic contribution of $3.5 billion by 2030.
Mr Barr is pleased with the signs of recovery post-pandemic and delighted that they have reached the $3.5 billion target seven years early. As part of the 2030 strategy, they announced lifting the $3.5 billion target to $4 billion by 2030; currently, they are well on track to exceed this.
As of March 2024 visitor expenditure, the current target has creeped up to $3.72 billion despite the cost of living pressures. So while this is still below $4 billion, this is improving thanks to the 5.5 million visitors to Canberra. This translates directly to money spent at 1000s of local businesses.
Canberra’s international visitor market continues to rebound post-pandemic, with an 80% growth rate over the past 12 months since March 2024. This is thanks to the partnership between Canberra Airport and Tourism Australia, who are working on ways to make it cheaper and easier to get to Canberra, as well as the Aviation Stimulus Fund.
Mr Barr stated the Government are continuing their commitment to assist with diversifying and growing the tourism sector, the development of more quality tourism products and experiences, along with a record number of applications to their Tourism Product Development Fund. This fund has now delivered $4 million in combined total investment to local businesses over the last few years.
The Major Event Fund will continue to support a strong calendar of events across the next year, with support going to Summernats, Kanga Cup, Discovering Ancient Egypt at the National Museum, a Socceroos World Cup Qualifier, Uni Sport Nationals, Summer of Cricket and, starting soon, Chicago the Musical.
"Floriade is also set to commence in just over a week with 30 days of activities planned for the public."
Mr Barr said the budget has committed further funding for the planning and development of the new Canberra Convention and Entertainment Centre. This will assist in the concept designs for an integrated convention and entertainment centre that will support live music events and performances, putting Canberra back on the national touring circuit.
With the approaching election, Mr Barr looks forward to making an announcement on the tourism and major events package that will lay out a plan to grow the visitor economy to a new target of $5 billion of expenditure by 2030.
Question – With regards to the 10 years capital works planned and the cost inflation, do you believe that this is achievable?
Mr Barr answered that all future projects with future projections contain a cost escalation element calculated in, along with Government budget and revenue increasing every year by 4.5%. While this is an ambitious program, the construction and works in progress over the next three years are locked in and committed to.
Question – Do you think there is anything the Government could do further to support the Tourism Industry?
There will be further announcements regarding support as the election approaches. While Mr Barr can’t make any new policy announcements, he does state that the territory will continue to work with the Commonwealth to explore opportunities for both infrastructure and tourism product development.
Question – How does the Commonwealth Government view Canberra?
As the Prime Minister lives in Canberra, there has been a level of engagement that they look forward to translating into further solid commitments for Canberra in the coming years.
Question – Do you believe there is anything else the government can do regarding funding for initiatives such as the light rail?
Mr Barr says there are certainly opportunities to assist operations and supporting growth in Canberra and Australia. However, we need to realise that we are one of eight states that are all competing for infrastructure priorities and this needs to be managed within the capacity of our construction sector.
Neil Hobbs – Founder and Chair of the Board of the Canberra Art Biennial, on this year’s event and the benefits flowing to the ACT economy.
Mr Hobbs plans to match the biennial of other cities around the world, providing a comparison between Canberra to Munster, Germany and Oslo, Norway.
The vision is to support and present innovative contemporary arts practice in the designed landscape of Canberra that enhances our community’s experience of public space.
Mr Hobbs says the purpose is to present a biennial festival and allied events in order to connect local, national and international artists to Canberra. This will further stimulate community engagement and celebrate the transformative power of art.
Mr Hobbs believes that as the arts are the main reason many visitors travel to Canberra, they will be capitalising on the following:
- Embedding the Canberra Art Biennial brand into the national arts festival calendar.
- Enhancing Canberra’s national reputation
- Growing interstate and international audience members
- Recognition of the event’s contribution to cultural tourism.
In 2024, the Canberra Art Biennial will partner with two international artists from Indonesia and New Zealand, 34 national artists and 24 local artists. Alongside these are also partnerships with 23 cultural institutions/Galleries and ARI’s, three land and facility managers, 15 businesses and venue, ten local artisans and fabricators and two foundations.
For events running during 2024’s Biennial, these include the following
Mr Hobbs stated that they are already looking for partnerships for 2026, including a principal private partner, two major private sector partners and any major public sector support.
Question – What are the costs for the tickets and how can the public purchase them?
The tickets are free, however events such as festival dinners and film nights will be either a fixed cost or a sliding scale of $0 to whatever the patron would like to pay.
Question – With concerns that this event will fly under the radar, how will this be promoted locally?
This is the current challenge as the Canberra Arts Biennial does not have the same budget as other large cities who can utilise significant branding. If anyone has any suggestions on how to leverage attention, Mr Hobbs would like to hear from you.
Question – How are the artists going in Canberra at the moment?
Nationally, it is a struggle and it has been quite slow in the commercial art world. With the recent closure of a Canberra Gallery that is shutting down after 40 years of business, artists are finding fewer opportunities to sell their work commercially.
Question – In terms of sponsoring and supporting the Arts Biennial, what can we do?
Mr Hobbs welcomed all attendees to contact him directly if they wish to be involved.
Rhys Treloar – General Manager of Sapphire Coast Tourism, on tourism growth and it's impact on businesses across the region.
Mr Treloar introduced himself and explained that Sapphire Coast Tourism is a private agency that promotes tourism within the Sapphire Coast region.
"The Sapphire Coast region is made up of 75% national parks and state forests, oyster farms and humpback whales."
Mr Treloar presented a short video that is used to promote the Sapphire Coast to potential visitors as ‘wonderfully wild’.
He explained that this tagline has assisted them in standing out from other nature-based destinations, promoting that they are a little bit different while leaning into the coastal wilderness that makes them special.
Currently there are just over 50 active businesses along the coast, but not all of them fall into the visitor economy. Mr Treloar is hoping to put energy into the transition season, such as the edges of school holidays.
Sapphire Coast Tourism have a strong and enduring relationship with Tourism Canberra who are currently assisting them promote on the international stage as an extension to Canberra.
Mr Treloar stated the key to successful tourism is ‘hunting in packs’, working together in order to create memorable and unique experiences. He shared an example of two businesses who worked together and created an Aboriginal Kayaking Tour that ended with an Oyster Shucking class.
Mr Treloar believes that another big opportunity for Canberra and the Sapphire coast is Mountain Biking Tourism. As there are currently 350km of mountain biking trails and there is a huge opportunity for Canberra and Stromlo to create a mountain biking mecca.
Mr Treloar ended his presentation encouraging all to remember the coast when sourcing new events, as coastal businesses are keen to work with Canberra.
Question – How has the cruise industry been impacting your region?
2024 has been a lot smaller for cruise ships booked for the Sapphire Coast, with only 34 ships booked rather than the usual 47. However, this has been a really great inclusion for the area, especially for Eden which has brought thousands of visitors to the town.
Question – The Government is investing a lot of money into the region, how do you go about lobbying the Government?
As Sapphire Coast Tourism is a private business, they are outsourced to local government and work with them as much and as often as possible for local government funding. They also have great support through their destination network who are able to provide them with a voice and advocacy to Destination New South Wales.
Dr David Marshall, Chair of the Leaders Forum highlighted;
- Dash Rumble and her team at Pilot have won the ACT Restaurant for the third time.
- The Canberra Region showcase is being held at Parliament House Mural Hall on Wednesday 11 September, from 5:30pm.
- The Tourism Leaders Forum in association with the ACT AHA will be running a series of forums over the next five weeks in each of the five ACT electorates. They are inviting local candidates to present their policies and vision for our tourism and hospitality sectors. Everyone is welcome. Call the AHA or Leaders Forum for dates and locations.
- The Hyatt’s General Manager Adam Myott is leaving Canberra next Friday, he has been a great contributor to our industry and we wish him well.
- This is Adam Might's last forum as he is leaving Canberra, David wishes him a safe farewell and well wishes for his future.
- Cricket ACT are hosting a PM's dinner on the 29th of November at Parliament House. The cricket match takes place on Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December.
- The ACT and Region Tourism Awards will also be held on the same night, 29th of November. Tickets will be available shortly.
Next forum Thursday 4 October 2024.
Speakers will include the British High Commissioner, the Director of Craft Plus Design Canberra, and the CEO of Tourism Australia
Pictures are courtesy of our partners at Hiebl Photography.