We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples and the Traditional Custodians of Ngunnawal Country, the land on which we meet today. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and emerging.
A big thank you to sponsors for your support of the forum.
Hon Alicia Payne MP
- People tend to give Canberra a bad name, stale and boring, and too many round abouts
- Canberra bashing is not new and has happened since Canberra was chosen as the Capital
- It's one of our biggest challenges to overcome these misconceptions
- Canberra is full of hard working public servants and private sector workers, it is a beautiful place to live, and we should be proud of our Capital
- No one is more passionate about Canberra than our wonderful business community - running our attractions, cafes, galleries and hospitality
- My position as Chair of Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories gives me a chance to help promote and nurture Canberra
- I want to talk about the positives and encourage my colleagues to do so too, addressing attitudes that beg to differ
- Year ending March 2020 there were 3 million visitors to Canberra. Our domestic market is recovering since Covid
- Expenditure is up to 90% of where it was pre-Covid
- More people visited Canberra in June 2022 than they did in June 2019
- Canberra is the best place to live in the world - twice awarded this title by the OECD
- Honorable mentions to BentSpoke Brewery and Ona Coffee for their awards, and Jamala Lodge providing a unique offering
- I want to see Australians talk about visiting Canberra similarly to how Americans speaking about visiting the Smithsonians
- Advocacy for funding our attractions and venues that are struggling is important to me. The States are funding more into their institutions than the Federal Government. The Prime Minister has also chosen to make Canberra his home, something positive
- I'm so pleased to hear from Kieran Perkins, that there is a push to keep the AIS in the National's Capital.
- Thrive 2030 initiative - envisions a thriving, profitable, actionable plan to restore tourism economy. I encourage everyone to engage with Thrive and learn about these goals.
- A key part of the messaging is to encourage people to experience the many things on offer, the variety of what's on offer in Canberra.
- Thrive's framework explores collaborative solutions to challenges, such as jobs in aviation, as well as international visitors.
- It is frustrating that Canberra has not received funding needed to get it to a place where it can hold events like important international events.
- Thank you to everyone in the room - for everything you do for tourism in our Canberra
Question - "I heard you mention the convention centre, can you commit to an amount in funding?"
- I would love to. It is something there has been pressure on for years. If we want our capital to be on the international stage and hold international events - that build our relationships - it is something that has to happen. I think we need to keep up the argument on that.
Kieren Perkins OAM
- Thank you very much for having me, I'm settling into my new role and have lots to share with you today
- We have a lot of upcoming sporting events and many sporting events looking to come to Australia
- We have an amazing opportunity to generate success on a global scale
- We talk a lot about the need for facilities and infrastructure available to deliver these types of events - but we actually have to perform well in the field of play too - our athletes need to also be at that level and be supported to succeed
- The opportunity is also to change the face of sport in Australia, for Australia to become more focused and more passionate about what we want to achieve
- We have cycles - lead ups to Olympics for example - there's a rush of funding and interest - then it ebbs away and interest fades off
- There is a bigger picture to consider, how we help young people into sport and support them - flowing through to the things needed to perform great sport - and beyond to an enriching life after sport
- Advocacy is needed for the benefits of sport and its communities
- It is a big agenda and a lot to do, but I believe if we don't take this opportunity, we will be stuck in the same place we are in now - sport underfunded - and that doesn't make for a sustainable industry
- Our professional sports take up a lot of the air time, but there are also athletes of all kinds trying be the best in their sport with with minimal funding. For example, Australian athletes competing in the Paris Olympics will receive average funding of $16,000 each
- Athletes can train in State based programs and come to Canberra for camps - they spend time in our training environment - accessing high performance training and resources. We have limited spots and constantly need to turn people away. Despite this, we are globally recognised for what we provide
- AIS, in it's current point in time, is impacted by a lull in Australia's perception and enthusiasm for sport. The AIS buildings need funding and many are well beyond their use by date
- The need we have is to uplift our facilities and accommodation, if we want to maximise opportunities in Brisbane 2032
- We have grandiose plans - these plans include modernising our technology, environmental factors, and growing our tours for school age kids
- We also have passion for increasing the potential of what our site can offer - for example, offering young local athletes the opportunity to watch high performance athletes training in camp
Question - "How much funding is available, and is it enough?"
- We recognise the funding package on the horizon will make a big difference, we need around $400 million to make our phase one happen over ten years
- We also are pleased the new federal government has a far more open minded approach and understands the significance of national facilities
- We are talking about a lot of money and we recognise the budget is challenged
James Goodwin
- The Australian Airport Association encompasses, supplies, management, wildlife conservation and more – suggest change to ‘The Australian Airport Association represents 330 airports and aerodromes, and also aviation associated companies in areas like supplies, management, wildlife conservation and more
- I'm here to talk about what we can explore in our opportunities and what is happening in the world
- We take a look into consumer insights and try to learn as much as we can
- We have a two speed recovery at the moment - we are seeing a patchy recovery
- Airports have seemed busy - this is because we have numbers at 110% of pre-Covid times
- We have less staff but we also have new staff
- In a highly regulated environment like aviation credentials are vital - when you cannot work your accreditation is revoked - there are challenges finding pilots to work
- In addition to workforce challenges we have had absentee problems - anything up to 20% is a big problem - and this is what we have been experiencing. For example, recently Sydney airport experienced 95 staff absent due to illness on a single day
- We have seen new staff, new protocols, new equipment and passengers not necessarily understanding changes
- People are using their private cars to get to and from the airport - causing parking issues - because they didn't want to use public transport
- People are reluctant to check in their bags, meaning more carry on bags and not enough luggage space, so disgruntled customers
- A positive - confidence to travel has returned
- Australians are keen to go overseas - but the reverse is not happening - overseas visitors are reluctant to visit Australia
- Business travel has not returned - and we need to look at this
- 51% of people book their holiday less than 2 weeks prior to departing. We need to be more dynamic and flexible to account for this spontaneity
- People are more likely to impulse buy holidays worth thousands of dollars. This is a big change, and something we as an industry are not quite ready for
- People are concerned about the price of travel - How do we demonstrate value for money? How can you have a good value holiday? This is what we need to communicate
- We need to talk about Australia and New Zealand as a packaged deal to the rest of the world - visit both on your trip
- Technology is challenging - We need technology that frees up staff, but people want human interaction. We need to look at what the best technology and balance is to provide those needed human touch points eg help to check bags, if something goes wrong and a voice over the PA to announce what is happening
- 'Philan-Tourism' - There is an increased interest in health resorts, national parks - Does Canberra fit into that? We need to understand this is what people are after. People want to feel good and do good - support the place they are visiting.
- Our research shows vacation romances are being sought - people are seeking connection and wanting to make friends and meet partners on vacations
- 18% of the population have a disability and 11% are carers - 63.2% avoid travel due to issues travelling - we need to think about this, it is a hidden market. These people could be helped to have a safe and enjoyable holiday, we can aim to make what we provide accessible. Airport design, hotel design and customer service training are considerations
- Airport design - the airport being the gateway of that destination and representative of its region. Selling local produce and promoting the region within the airport design and offerings. Especially relevant to ease negative impacts of delays so people can keep experiencing their trip away in the airport environment
Next forum
- Neil Gaughan AFP Assistant Commissioner and ACT Chief Police Officer on keeping your property, guests and safe over the coming summer months
- Michael Rodrigues the NSW 24-Hour Economy Commissioner on Sydney’s experience in generating activity both night and day in Australia’s largest city
- ACT Transport Canberra executives on raising London Circuit and the impact of traffic movements with road closures and new parking arrangements on Canberrans and visitors to the ACT
The next forum is on 1 November, to RSVP click here
Credits:
Created with an image by Jandrie Lombard - "Aerial view of a typical suburb in Australia"