Tourism Industry Reforms and Its Impacts on the Growth of Australian Economy

TOURISM INDUSTRY REFORMS AND ITS IMPACTS ON THE GROWTH OF AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY 1
TOURISM INDUSTRY REFORMS AND ITS IMPACTS ON THE GROWTH OF AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY
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TOURISM INDUSTRY REFORMS AND ITS IMPACTS ON THE GROWTH OF AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY 2
Introduction
Australia is among the richest nations in the region of Asia-Pacific. It is ranked among the top
five richest countries in the region of Asia-Pacific in terms of economic growth with a gross
domestic product of more than 1.3 trillion (Prideaux &Witt, 2010, p.7). Australia is also among
the top five nations with most free economies according to the 2018 index with more than 79
score of economic freedom. Almost all the industries in Australia are open to foreign
investments competition and they have access to readily available highly skilled labor force. This
has greatly contributed towards improving and maintaining economic growth in Australia and as
a result it has remained a centre of attractions for many investors from all over the world.
Tourism industry has been chosen. In general, tourism refers to the activities of the visitors. It
involves the travel of people outside their local environment to other places for a period which is
actually less than one year but more than 24 hours (Leiper, 2012, p.390). Tourism can be internal
(domestic) or international. People travel to places for different purposes. The main purpose of
traveling in tourism is leisure among others which may include business and other activities
under personal level. Tourism in Australia is a very crucial industry and contributes almost more
than 3.2 percent of the gross domestic product. Australian tourism industry is very broad and
consists of various enterprises supporting the tourists’ activities. These enterprises offer various
activities to the tourists which include accommodation, transport, casino businesses and even the
education sector as some tourists may be interested in learning foreign languages. For this reason
tourism, the Australian industry sector remains very important and the government is doing its
best to improve the various tourism activities and other sectors of the economy which are
directly or indirectly involved in tourism to improve its economic growth.

TOURISM INDUSTRY REFORMS AND ITS IMPACTS ON THE GROWTH OF AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY 3
Reforms in the Tourism Industry of Australia
The Australian tourism industry is a very crucial component of the economy as it contributes
much towards improving the economic growth of Australia. The Australian government has been
undertaking various reforms in the industry to improve its efficiency and consequently its share
towards improving the Australian economy (Savage & O’Connor, 2015, p.609). The government
reforms have been successful as the contribution of the industry towards the gross domestic
product has been improving for the past ten years though at a slow rate. The industry has a bright
future and much is expected from it in future. The following are the reforms which have been
introduced in the Australian tourism industry for the past ten years:
i. Transport Reforms
There has been an increasing demand for tourists in the tourism industry of Australia. Tourists
have been increasing each preceding year. The increased number of tourists needs to be
supported with good transport system so as to comfortably travel within Australia and enjoy. The
government together with the operators in the tourism industry of Australia has been working
hand in hand to improve the transport system and some infrastructures to accommodate the
increasing tourists demand (Berry & Ladkin, 2010, p.433). This reform has been a success as
traffic jam in Australia has been reducing with time. The success of this reform has been ensured
in the following ways:
a. The government has made agreements with the air transport industry to offer affordable
air services to tourists as the demand increases. These services include affordable air
tickets and cheap comfortable services to the tourists. The government has also gone a set
further to subsidize some air operations to enable them to offer affordable services. This

TOURISM INDUSTRY REFORMS AND ITS IMPACTS ON THE GROWTH OF AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY 4
has attracted more tourists since travelling within Australia has been made cheap and
comfortable.
b. The government has established new travel routes. Many roads through different places
have been constructed. The government has also enabled the establishment of new
airports and airlines such as the Virgin Australia airline. This has contributed much
towards eliminating traffic jams as more routes are available and hence has made
traveling within Australia easy.
c. The government has encouraged the operators within the tourism industry of Australia to
invest much on aviation opportunities. Many operators have been encouraged to adopt
the air transport means for their tourists. This reform has been a success as many
operators within Australia have adopted it. This has contributed much towards
eliminating traffic jams on roads as many tourists prefer using the cheap air transport
means.
d. The government of Australia has come up with the Tourist Refund Scheme which
enables many tourists both the domestic and international ones to claim some refund
from the tax paid on the items purchased in the event of the tourism activities.
ii. Labor reforms
The Australian industry has been facing the shortage of labor for the past ten years (Keating,
2009, p.403). More than 30000 employee vacancies are available. During the year 2015, the
tourism industry required more than 54000 employees out of which about 27000 vacancies
required unskilled labor force. This shortage of labor has led to poor services being offered to
tourists as only a few employees are available to serve and satisfy them fully. The government
has been working hand in hand with the tourism industry operators to enable them to recruit new