Tourism group confident of economic turnaround
Posted
Tourism Noosa says it is confident the industry will bounce back from the current tough conditions.
A Sunshine Coast Regional Council report estimates 3,000 jobs will be lost over the next three years if visitor numbers drop by 5 per cent.
It also says increasing aviation fuel costs are expected to drive airport visitor arrivals down by 60,000 passengers next year.
The chief executive officer of Tourism Noosa, Steve Cooper, says the industry is going through a rough patch.
"We're coming off the tail end of probably one of the most bizarre, complex and challenging set of economic circumstances to hit Australia in the last 15 years," he said.
"All the indicators that we see both in terms of a sustainable sense and economic sense indicate that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not a train.
"Primarily this is going to impact upon the hospitality services area. There's a lot of itinerant workers who come and go with the season and these are unfortunately the jobs which are probably most likely to be impacted upon.
"Personally I think that it's the casual area where there is going to be the impact heavily felt, but in an optimistic sense going forward, the industry does have a range of programs to combat this."
Mr Cooper says while things have been tough, he is confident they will improve.
"I think with petrol prices also on the decrease that there is a degree of optimism that is sneaking back into the market, continued good weather with that optimism ... provides a very strong foundation for tourism to build upon," he said.
