Australia tourism looking up
2010-07-06
Australian tourism officials got good news at the Tourism Futures conference in Brisbane as one prominent forecaster predicted that the tourism sector will see growth in the near future.
According to Sky News, Access Economics director Chris Richardson believes that short-term problems will soon give way to long-term growth and profitability.
One of the challenges in the near future is the falling value of the Australian dollar. However, Richardson believes that the dollar won't permanently hurt growth. Another issue was a law that restricts student travel.
"That change and its impact on foreign student numbers in Australia will be a short-term challenge I don't think the industry's really focused on yet," he told the conference.
He also cautioned that the worldwide economic collapse was not permanent, and the eventual comeback will be beneficial for Australia.
"Tourism is a luxury. It might tend to do badly in downturns, but over time as incomes rise, it does doubly well."
Australia was recently named as the top pick for a dream vacation in a survey by luxury travel website Virtuoso.
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