Help us improve, ATEC pleads

Help us improve, ATEC pleads
By admin


The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has called for Government action after warning that alarmingly low productivity levels could undermine the economy and further hit the tourism industry.

The body described as “shocking” a report that placed Australia only marginally ahead of Botswana in a productivity table.

“We live in a country that has largely survived the GFC with a strong currency, highly successful minerals sector and relatively strong employment and it is shocking to think we are doing this despite such a low level of productivity,” ATEC managing director Felicia Mariani said. “The question is, how long can it last.”

The tourism sector specifically has suffered from a lack of research and development and only the creation of an industry body to fill that void will enable businesses to connect product with the needs of tourists, she said.

Productivity has been well qualified and measured for manufacturing but not so for services which has left the sector struggling to understand how it can improve, Mariani added. Businesses are building product “in an information vacuum”.

“ATEC is looking to help redefine productivity measures in a way that is consistent with the services sector and it is only by doing this that we can identify ways to improve the services offered by the tourism industry specifically,” she said. “The tourism industry is dominated by SME’s with limited capacity to invest in building a greater understanding of their product or to find ways of delivering it more productively.

“That is why tourism, like other industries, needs the support of government to take a look at our challenges and help build industry capacity to connect with their market.”

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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