Victoria falls behind Queensland to third place for tourism dollar

Queensland – beautiful one day, pulling more tourism dollars than Victoria the next.

After a brief period in the sun in which Victoria pipped Queensland to be the second most lucrative tourism destination in the country – behind NSW – the tables have turned, prompting industry lobbyists to call for more investment.

Although spending is up, fewer vistors are coming to Victoria.Credit:Pat Scala

Victoria Tourism Industry Council figures show Victoria began generating more tourism revenue than Queensland in 2017/2018 but has fallen to third, according to data for the 12 months to September 2022.

The peak body wants the Victorian government to invest heavily in the sector to reclaim second place, including by building a railway station at Avalon Airport before the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

”We need to continue to invest heavily in the recover of our industry when the landscape we’re playing in is highly competitive,” the body’s chief executive Felicia Mariani said. “Both NSW and Queensland are investing significantly in their visitor economies.

“We fought hard to win the No. 2 spot, and it’s hard to lose it again – we’ve got to win it back.”

Total visitors to the state – international and interstate – were down 22 per cent to 75.6 million in the 12 months to the end of September 2022, compared with the same period in 2019. Total spend was down 16 per cent to $26.5 billion.

The number of domestic overnight travellers went up by 40 per cent in the 12 months to September 2022, compared with the same period in 2019, but international traveller numbers were down 80 per cent.

Victoria was still in COVID lockdown for a few weeks at the start of the 2021-22 period. The data does also not account for the past six months, in which there have been five interest rate rises absorbed by households.

The tourism council said the biggest issue holding back the industry was workforce shortages.

In its submission to the upcoming state budget, the council is asking for major investment to bring 100,000 workers back into the industry who have been lost since 2019, and wants TAFE courses for tourism reinstated on the government’s free-course list.

“One hundred thousand people is a lot of people to try and recover, and especially heading towards the Commonwealth Games – they’re going to need a lot of people as well,” Mariani said.

The budget submission said the Commonwealth Games alone would require more than 40,000 employees.

The council’s most ambitious request is for the state government to contribute $50 million towards a new train station on the Geelong rail line to service Avalon Airport, and have it up and running by the time the Commonwealth Games kick off in 2026.

There has been no commitment from the Andrews government to a rail link for Avalon airport, although when in opposition Labor criticised the Liberal government for lack of progress on one.

A new station has in-principle support from the federal government, which has
indicated it would match a $50 million investment from Avalon Airport, but Commonwealth
support would require $50 million from the Victorian government as well.

Some of Victoria’s tourism industry requests

• $3 million over two years for industry-informed training programs.
• Reinstate Tourism and Travel as Free TAFE courses.
• $60 million over the next two years to “maintain an aggressive focus on aviation attraction”
• Co-fund the Avalon Airport Rail Station with $50 million
• $7 million per annum for four years to Parks Victoria as well as additional funding for remediation following natural disasters.
• $40 million of funding for four years to Visit Victoria
• A return of overseas tourism trade missions
• $15 million per annum for the Melbourne Convention Bureau for four years to secure a strong pipeline of future events

Avalon Airport CEO Tony Brun, who last month announced his organisation would fund $50 million of the $150 million needed to install a new station on the Geelong line between Little River and Lara and a “trackless tram” to shuttle passengers to the airport terminal, told The Age he had received construction advice that the Commonwealth Games deadline could be hit.

“It’s tight, but it’s deliverable,” he said.

A Victorian government spokesperson said the tourism sector had bounced back strongly, with domestic visitation back to near pre-pandemic levels.

“Just as all Victorians are facing cost of living challenges with rising interest rates and inflation, the Victorian Budget will also take into account current economic conditions,” the spokesperson said.

“The Budget will deliver on our election commitments as we continue our strong economic recovery.”

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