Tourism is potentially an important part of local economic development in any community, often leading to visitors spending money way beyond the initial point of attraction. This is why so many local councils across the Commonwealth recognise the need to support local tourism alongside providing crucial of public services. This support can range from advertising; ensuring tourist information is readily available; and to supporting events and festivals.

This is certainly the case in Australia, according to new research conducted on behalf of the Australian Regional Tourism Network (ARTN) which highlighted the important role of local councils in Australia’s tourism industry.

More than 250 councils contributed to the research which focused on local government spend on tourism initiatives and programmes. Results revealed that in 2015/16:

• Local government in Australia spent an estimated $373 million on the operation of visitor information centres, events, festivals, promotion, marketing and the development of tourism;
• Two thirds of the $373 million spend was invested by councils in regional and remote areas; Nine in ten councils agree that tourism can offer future economic development opportunities for their local area;
• 35 cents of every dollar was spent on operating visitor information centres; andEight out of 10 Councils directly employ staff to have a Tourism role (equating to approximately 1,672 full-time equivalents).

Read more about the findings of the research.