Tuesday 8th May 2023
Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism, Kevin Hogan has joined tourism industry leaders in their calls for the Prime Minister to urgently reconsider any plans to increase the Passenger Movement Charge (PMC) in tomorrow’s Federal Budget.
“The Prime Minister must back our tourism industry, the PMC’s current rate is already one of the highest departure taxes in the developed world and any increase, will only deter international travellers from coming to Australia,” Mr Hogan said.
“In the October budget, the government cut $35 million in funding from Tourism Australia, the agency tasked with rebuilding our international tourism market.”
“Any increase to the PMC in tomorrow night’s budget will be a further kick in the guts for tourism operators reliant on international travellers.”
“We are competing against the rest of the world to attract international travellers in what is a fiercely competitive market.”
“The return of the international traveller to Australia has been slow, we are well below 2019 levels while other markets have seen international tourism return to pre-pandemic levels.”
“Australia’s international tourism numbers are not expected to return to pre-covid levels until 2026. The Prime Minister must start backing our tourism operators and regions reliant on the international market. Any increase to the PMC will push our recovery back further causing job losses and an economic downturn for the sector.”
ENDS
