How does the Government hope to increase our Japanese tourism market?
Ms NORI: It is well known that international tourism has declined worldwide and that the decline has had an impact on our country, as indeed it has on countries around the world. I have received reports which indicate that the United Kingdom has suffered an overall downturn in overseas visits and hotel occupancy in London of 20 per cent, and that Germany’s international visitor nights from the United States of America have declined by nearly 17 per cent, compared to a 15 per cent decrease in Australia. In the United Kingdom, visitor nights have decreased by 9.4 per cent. The Japanese market of both countries has decreased by 12.7 per cent, whereas Australia’s share of the Japanese market has decreased by 0.7 per cent. A recent article in the Economist magazine referred to last year being one of the worst that the tourism industry has known. Delta lost $1 billion, and the number of North American visitors to London decreased by 20 per cent, according to PKF, a London-based consultancy c
