Tourism leaders gather for breakfast

On Wednesday the 13th of September, Tourism Alliance Victoria hosted a breakfast for 135 Tourism Industry leaders, the Minister for Tourism the Hon John Pandazopoulos and 16 Government Members of Parliament at the Windsor Hotel.  Attendees included Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development Joe Helper, Parliamentary Secretary for Environment Elaine Carbines and Speaker of the House Judy Maddigan. Several Mayors and Councillors from regional local governments were also joined by CEOs and Chairpersons from 9 industry associations linked to tourism.

In welcoming the Minister, Chairman of Tourism Alliance Victoria Mr Roger Grant, outlined a number of key issues facing tourism in Victoria.  In short these included:  Maximising Victoria’s natural assets to support sustainable long term investment and 10 year operator licensing; direct international airline access; the alignment of Local Government and the tourism planning scheme; the importance of quality skills to support yield in small business and increased government support for marketing.

Minister John Pandazopoulos provided a comprehensive address highlighting tourism’s needs for the future in Victoria and how we can build on the brand strengths Victoria now holds outright in the context of the Australian market.  Much interest at the forum surrounded the impending release of the 10 Year Tourism and Events Strategy.  The Minister indicated that the Strategy will address a broad range of key issues for the Industry.  The importance of growing international markets for Victoria; the need to maximise the potential of Victoria’s nature based experiences and the need for a broad approach by government to tourism were also highlighted in the Minister’s presentation.

Members from across the state with a 50:50 mix of regional and metropolitan tourism businesses maximised the networking opportunity the breakfast provided.

Tourism Alliance Victoria would like to thank our Corporate Sponsors for their support of the breakfast:  PRIME Television; Melbourne Airport and TRIP – Tourism & Recreation Insurance Program.