Tourism numbers in Australia are dropping. And, while these numbers drop, problems with the industry's labour markets will potentially worsen.
Specifically, The Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union, faces problems including job loss.
This news comes just after the Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson announced today that the government would work to set up a national accreditation scheme that would help to improve tourism numbers by improving tourism standards here.
Yet, as reported by the Herald Sun, LHMU Assistant National Secretary Troy Burton does not feel that that will help the industry enough. He said today, "We applaud the intention but the proposed system will run the risk of drawing attention to falling services standards in tourism caused by the collapse of the industry's labour market."
According to him, there are several problems, which must be addressed. This will includes pay rates, quality of jobs, a voice for its workforce and occupational health and safety standard increases. He says that the industry has a very poor image that needs to be changed to see any benefits long term.
Australian tourism has been on the decline for some time now. According to the Bureau of Statistics, which released new information on Monday, the total number of tourists coming into the country totalled 5.65 million, which is just 2 per cent rise over 2006. 2006 was not much better with a meagre rise of just 0.6 per cent.
