The tourism and transport industries in Australia are highly interdependent, with the inbound tourism sector reliant on 99 per cent of visitors arriving by air. The remaining one per cent arrives on cruise ships. Domestic travel within Australia depends on rail, road and aviation networks. Reliable and regular transport services are required to deliver tourists to destinations scattered far and wide across Australia, particularly to regional areas.
Aviation, as a major enabler of tourism, has a particularly important role to play in supporting the government's vision for growth of the tourism sector in Australia. The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (the Department) works closely with other departments including:
To ensure that tourism interests are considered in the development and implementation of policies and programs impacting on tourism. Areas of interest to the Department include:
- air services liberalisation
- aviation security
- climate change
- transport infrastructure (including airports)
- passenger processing at Australia's international airports.
National Tourism and Aviation Advisory Committee
The Department co-chairs the National Tourism and Aviation Advisory Committee (the Committee), along with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. The objective of the Committee is to enhance tourism and aviation relationships and to provide for members' views to be considered in the government's development of tourism and aviation related policies. Membership includes state and territory governments, airlines, airports and peak tourism and aviation bodies.
By working on transport issues with other Australian Government portfolios, state and territory governments and industry, the Department seeks to ensure that the benefits of tourism to the Australian economy are maximised.