QTS Chapter 2 - Introduction - Tourism Queensland

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Birdsville Hotel, Birdsville Social outcomes Tourism has both positive and negative effects on society. A key objective of this Strategy is to foster greater community involvement in setting desirable growth outcomes for tourism and promoting awareness of the benefits of tourism. Community engagement in planning the future of tourism is critical to creating sustainable communities. The role of tourism in the community is recognised in the Strategy’s fourth goal. The social benefits of carefully-planned tourism activities include: a growth in demand for new infrastructure and services benefiting visitors and locals; a growth in job opportunities that can sustain marginal communities; an improvement in community cohesiveness through partnerships built between local people, organisations and businesses; and opportunities for Indigenous communities to improve their quality of life through appropriate Indigenous tourism activity, based on unique and contemporary experiences. Theme one, Coordination, partnerships and community engagement, and theme two, Investment, infrastructure and access, include actions aimed at creating an inclusive regional planning mechanism for the tourism industry and raising community awareness of the benefits of tourism. 2 Introduction Making Queensland more accessible The tourism industry has a legal, economic and social responsibility to ensure travel is available to all members of the community. More than 3.6 million people in Australia have a disability, or almost 19 per cent of the population. 6 With Australia’s ageing population, this figure is likely to increase in the next decade. The Queensland Government Strategic Framework for Disability details the obligations and responsibilities of all sectors to the disabled. The QTS provides a framework to ensure that Queensland’s tourism industry retains its position as a leading destination in providing the highest level of accessibility to tourism services, products and experiences. Access to public premises, the provision of goods, services and facilities, and accommodation are governed by a range Sea World, Gold Coast of federal, state and local government legislation including the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992, the Disability Services Act 2006, the Building Code of Australia, and local government town plans. The Queensland Government has a key role in influencing the tourism industry to meet the demand for accessible tourism services, products and experiences. Tourism Queensland has recently undertaken a number of initiatives to address the needs of people with disabilities including: undertaking consumer research on accessibility, the ageing population and people with disabilities, and establishing an Accessible Tourism Reference Group to discuss the implications of the research and formulate an action plan to address supply and demand issues. This may lead to the development of a national website providing information about the accessibility of tourist destinations. A key recommendation of the QTS is to provide information to assist industry to cater for disabled visitors. Actions include reviewing and updating the Accessible Queensland Guide, completing an Accessibility Research Program to inform product development better and providing clear information to industry on their legal obligations regarding accessible tourism. Disability Services Queensland will assist in delivering on these actions. 6 Disability, Ageing and Carers, Summary of findings 1999. 11
Policy and planning context Wherever possible, the Queensland Tourism Strategy Steering Committee has sought to develop strategies and actions that are consistent with, or can add value to, existing industry plans. The Strategy seeks to add value to and influence the following key policies: National context The Tourism White Paper, A Medium to Long Term Strategy for Tourism, details the Australian Government’s tourism policy and contains coordinated initiatives to ‘help better prepare the Australian tourism industry against future industry shocks by making it more robust, flexible and attuned to sustainability’. 7 A Tourism Collaboration Intergovernmental Arrangement with state and territory governments provides a mechanism for implementation and coordination. Commonwealth Minister for Small Business and Tourism Department of Industry Tourism and Resources Australian Government Tourism White Paper Tourism Collaboration Intergovernmental Arrangement Tourism Ministers’ Council Australian Standing Committee on Tourism Tourism Australia State context 2 Introduction The QTS will make a significant contribution to the following Queensland Government priorities: managing urban growth and building Queensland’s regions; protecting the environment for a sustainable future; and growing a diverse economy and creating jobs. The QTS Steering Committee has sought alignment with the broader objectives of the Queensland Government’s Smart State Strategy by ensuring that the QTS provides a policy direction for the tourism industry that is focused on the future, innovative and reflective of changes in technology. State Minister for Tourism Department of Tourism, Fair Trading and Wine Industry Development Queensland Tourism Strategy Tourism Queensland The Queensland Government, through the Growing Tourism Strategy, recognised that tourism required coordination at all levels of government and across all government departments. In building on and replacing the Growing Tourism Strategy, the QTS extends the whole-of-government approach to provide both central and regional government coordination and effective industry engagement. Regional and local Regional Tourism Organisations Local Tourism Organisations / Local Government Destination Management Plans Destination Action Plans The Strategy aims to ensure that the tourism industry is consistently recognised in policy development across government and particularly in key planning documents such as the: Queensland Skills Plan; Education and Training Reforms for the Future; Regional Growth Management Frameworks such as the SEQ Regional Plan, the eight existing regional plans outside the SEQ region, and future regional plans; Blueprint for the Bush; Queensland Wine Industry Development Strategy; Partnerships Queensland; Roads Implementation Program; Community Engagement Improvement Strategy; Queensland Government Strategic Framework for Disability; Integrated Regional Transport Plans; and Shared Regional Economic Development Vision Statements developed under the Leading Smart Regions initiative. The QTS provides the framework to strengthen and capitalise on the linkages between the tourism structures and policies within Australia, as outlined in diagram 2. Tourism Industry Including tourism associations e.g. TTF, ATEC, QTIC etc. Diagram 2: Structure of tourism strategies and policies Regional context Destination management is a critical foundation for regional tourism planning and to be successful, requires a strong partnership between all stakeholders within the tourism network. This Strategy builds on the Destination Management Plans to reinforce the commitment to the destination management framework by creating a collaborative regional tourism planning mechanism. Theme one, Coordination, partnerships and community engagement, provides a detailed overview of the regional implementation process and network. 7 Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, The Tourism White Paper. 12 Queensland Tourism Strategy – November 2006
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QTS Chapter 2 - Introduction - Tourism Queensland

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