Australia’s tourism industry on Thursday warned it was in crisis. September saw visitor numbers dropping dramatically as global economic instability looms. The Australian Bureau of Statistics released figures this week showing 432,200 international visitors to Australia in September, compared with 790,600 locals visiting overseas. Tourism Minister, Martin Ferguson said global events such as Ramadan, the Rugby World Cup luring visitors to neighboring New Zealand, the Japan earthquake and tsunami and European economic stability all factored in creating a particular poor month for Australia’s tourism industry. Tourism and Transport Forum Chief, John Lee says resort islands were closing down across the Great Barrier Reef and people were being made redundant as visitor numbers decreased. Lee is calling the government to help tourism dependent Australia. “There’s this general attitude or malaise in a political sense where people say ‘Well, tourism’s fun so we can’t help them out’,” said Lee. Source: Bikya Masr, Image: www.flickr.com
