Australia flagging while others surge ahead.
A report in Brisbane’s Courier Mail over the weekend says that high air fares and a shortage of air capacity are expected to contribute to another stagnant year in inbound tourism in Australia, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, with Australia’s flat performance coming as our near neighbours, including Macau and mainland China, powering ahead.
Macau’s gambling industry has reached earnings of almost $US7 billion ($9 billion), which could see it become the world’s most profitable casino city, even beating Las Vegas’s famous strip, says the report, with Las Vegas earnings for last year about $US6.6 billion.
Delegates at the UNWTO conference in Spain heard that tourism in the Oceania region had stagnated during the 2006 year, with its 0.3% increase well below the worldwide increase of 4.5%, Australian arrivals increasing by 0.5% and New Zealand 1.3%.
According to the UNWTO’s latest world tourism barometer, released at the conference, strong performers in the Asia-Pacific region during 2006 included Japan up 9%, attracting travellers from Korea, China and Singapore, while the report said that a decline in Japanese tourist numbers was one of the reasons for New Zealand and Australia’s disappointing performances, adding, “Both destinations suffered equally from increased oil prices and consequently, increased air fares during the year, a factor contributing to the erosion of its competitiveness in the international market”.
According to the report, panel experts in Australia are not optimistic about a dramatic turnaround this year, saying, “The strength of the Australian dollar is a disincentive and, while Australia’s appeal as a safe and secure destination is a main draw, access is not getting easier as a result of higher fares and a shortage of airline capacity.”
According to the UNWTO, China is firming its status as Asia’s largest outbound tourism market, with last year about 34.5 million Chinese travelling overseas, up 11% on the previous year, with many Chinese travelling nearby and the amount of money they spent while abroad up 16%.
Koreans were also more likely to travel overseas during 2006, with a 13% increase in outbound trips and a 19% rise in international tourism expenditure.
The report said Macau’s big push into new hotel and casino development had been buoyed by the expansion of low cost airline services into Macau and according to the UNWTO, this has made short breaks easier for those keen to gamble, with visitors from mainland China making up about 60% of total tourist arrivals and gambling revenues reaching almost $US7 billion, with the rport adding, “It may put the former Portuguese colony in the top of the world’s most profitable casino cities, beating even Las Vegas’ famous strip”.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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