Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA) chair Martin Ferguson says the industry will need to be able to access higher levels of skilled workers if Australia is to continue growing the market from China.
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show China increased its visitor numbers to Australia by 21.6 per cent (177,900) to 1,001,200 in the year ending November 2015.
Ferguson, a former federal Tourism minister, said the Australian tourism and hospitality industry had stepped up to the mark to attract greater numbers of Chinese visitors, however, with international competitors increasingly targeting China for their own tourism business, Australia needed to offer the highest levels of service to maintain and grow its market position.
“A recent report on the Australian tourism labour force said the industry would need some 123,000 additional workers, including over 60,000 skilled positions by 2020 if we are to keep up with demand,” said Ferguson.
“The hotel industry is undertaking its largest expansionary phase in decades, which will provide the quality of accommodation needed by the Chinese market - but staffing and service standards are equally important and the industry has reached a bottleneck in terms of skilled workers.
“While hotel groups are doing their best to recruit and train, a combination of outdated industrial relations conditions and restrictions on temporary skilled migration is holding back the industry’s potential to grow employment and enhance service standards.
“Current minister for Tourism senator Colbeck said labour shortages are one of the most critical factors affecting regional and remote performance. We call on the government to act urgently to address these issues to ensure operators can access skilled staff to provide high quality service standards.
“When international visitors come to this country they – just like Australians – expect to see restaurants, shops and attractions open across weekends and on public holidays, but with 1950s industrial relations conditions still in place, it is a disincentive for businesses to open. We hope that the Fair Work Commission will follow the lead of the Productivity Commission and accept that IR provisions need to be updated to the 21stcentury to benefit both tourism businesses and workers.”
Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA) chair Martin Ferguson says the industry will need to be able to access higher levels of skilled workers if Australia is to continue growing the market from China.
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show China increased its visitor numbers to Australia by 21.6 per cent (177,900) to 1,001,200 in the year ending November 2015.
Ferguson, a former federal Tourism minister, said the Australian tourism and hospitality industry had stepped up to the mark to attract greater numbers of Chinese visitors, however, with international competitors increasingly targeting China for their own tourism business, Australia needed to offer the highest levels of service to maintain and grow its market position.
“A recent report on the Australian tourism labour force said the industry would need some 123,000 additional workers, including over 60,000 skilled positions by 2020 if we are to keep up with demand,” said Ferguson.
“The hotel industry is undertaking its largest expansionary phase in decades, which will provide the quality of accommodation needed by the Chinese market - but staffing and service standards are equally important and the industry has reached a bottleneck in terms of skilled workers.
“While hotel groups are doing their best to recruit and train, a combination of outdated industrial relations conditions and restrictions on temporary skilled migration is holding back the industry’s potential to grow employment and enhance service standards.
“Current minister for Tourism senator Colbeck said labour shortages are one of the most critical factors affecting regional and remote performance. We call on the government to act urgently to address these issues to ensure operators can access skilled staff to provide high quality service standards.
“When international visitors come to this country they – just like Australians – expect to see restaurants, shops and attractions open across weekends and on public holidays, but with 1950s industrial relations conditions still in place, it is a disincentive for businesses to open. We hope that the Fair Work Commission will follow the lead of the Productivity Commission and accept that IR provisions need to be updated to the 21stcentury to benefit both tourism businesses and workers.”
