Domestic tourism under threat from Jetstar International

Victorian State Tourism Minister John Pandazopoulos said in the Melbourne Age this weekend that Jetstar’s launching of international holiday routes posed a “major challenge” to Victoria’s tourism industry, with regional Victoria likely to be hardest hit in the short term.

As a result, Victoria can expect a domestic tourism slowdown and switch of focus to international marketing campaigns as Australia’s low-cost airlines start flying to cheap overseas destinations.

Jetstar is expected confirm its new international routes soon, with Hawaii, Bangkok and Bali likely to be the first services available from Victorian airports and while Jetstar is waiting for regulatory approval for the changes, they hope to be flying to the new international destinations by November, with flights to Osaka and Ho Chi Minh City being available from Sydney.

Mr Pandazopoulos said the impact on local operators would be immediate saying. “I expect we are going to see a huge transfer of people from holidaying around Australia to holidaying to other parts of the world, that will affect our economy, but it means that people can go offshore easier”.

“Rather than people driving around their own backyard visiting Gippsland or Mildura, they are just as likely to hop on those planes … That will have major implications for the way our domestic tourism operates.”

Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said the airline’s venture into the international market would initially be focused on passengers leaving Melbourne rather than arriving here, adding “But our product, medium term, will be in-bound focused as well as outbound”.

Mr Westaway said the local tourism industry would benefit enormously when Jetstar’s plans to operate routes to North American and European destinations within several years came to fruition, adding, “While we are likely to start with three overseas destinations, we’re hoping to grow to many destinations beyond that.”  “We do see Jetstar giving Victoria great in-bound potential over time,” he said.

Overseas visitors account for about 35% of Victoria’s tourism revenue, a figure expected to grow to 70% by 2016 and Minister Pandazopoulos said, “What we have to do is work a lot harder and more aggressively overseas in the next 10 years as a country”.

“It’s not cheap to be involved in international media campaigns, but that’s where we have to go and focus our energy.”  “While we are all spending a record amount on tourism, the reality is that, as a country, we get outspent by countries with smaller economies.”

Report by The Mole