Australia faces a slump in tourism: figures(AFP) – Dec 29, 2008
SYDNEY (AFP) — Australia's famous coral reefs, beaches and outback are facing a decline in tourism as cash-conscious globetrotters tighten their belts, analysts warned Tuesday.
Official figures released by the nation's tourism forecaster predicted a four percent slump in arrivals for 2009.
Just 5.3 million visitors are expected, which would be the lowest figure since 1989, when a pilots' strike drove tourism down 7.5 percent, said the Tourism Forecasting Committee.
Global financial turmoil had rattled consumer confidence and was expected to affect tourism more heavily than either the 2003 SARS epidemic or the Asian financial crisis of a decade ago.
SARS -- or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome -- triggered a global health emergency, infecting more than 8,000 people, causing nearly 800 deaths worldwide and pushing tourism down two percent, while the financial crisis saw a drop of 3.5 percent.
In the latest downturn, visitors from Japan and the United States are expected to drop off most steeply, plunging 11.9 and 8.5 percent respectively, despite an aggressive marketing campaign linked to the movie "Australia".
The Australian government has invested 50 million dollars (34.5 million US dollars) on a campaign using Baz Luhrmann's wartime epic, which has failed to meet US box-office expectations.
Both Japan and the US -- key inbound markets for Australia -- have declared themselves to be in recession.
Falls in visitors from both countries are expected to be somewhat offset by a rise in visitors from the growth economies of India (up 14.3 percent) and China (4.5 percent).
Australians are also expected to rein in their world travel, with outbound tourism forecast to drop by 2.9 percent.
Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard defended the government's spending on the campaign to promote Australia overseas with a cinematic television ad shot by film-maker Luhrmann.
"It's very important to keep a presence in overseas tourist markets," Gillard told reporters.
"Obviously
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