Page 290 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 31 May 1989
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literature that they take home there should be something for their parents - not for the kids, not educational particularly, but something for their parents - that points out all the accommodation, all the sorts of readily available information that might encourage them just to pick up the phone or walk down the street to the tourist agency in their place and say, "I want to see that". Why not do that?
Another thing that I have seen children absolutely fascinated with is the passport that they gave out at the Brisbane Expo. I suppose that is a pretty commonplace arrangement for that sort of event, so why not as they come in here give them a passport? As they go from point to point there could be a stamp at Parliament House, a stamp out here maybe, one at the National Gallery and so on. Their passport will be stamped and they will have a record of where they have been. That sort of thing intrigues young children, who are avid collectors. I present that from my own experience as being something that the young people would be most interested in. They have those memories, they will come back, and they may talk their parents into coming back rather sooner.
I turn to the other areas that are particularly targeted. I understand that the tourist people have recently nominated someone as the youth promotions officer - that is the term - particularly to target that area. I know they have done the same with the ethnic communities, and what a vast area to tap that must be. I have seen the publicity that one of our best known ACT citizens, Vic Rebikoff, has generated by just beginning now on an organised basis to bring in people from ethnic communities. I do not think there is a limit on what could be generated in that area.
The biggest target area as far as I am concerned - and again I believe I am an expert is this - is that of the family travelling in a motor car. That is the big tourist area across Australia, and there is no question about that. They are the ones that still bring us most revenue and the most interest in tourism. There are a few unmet areas for those people coming to Canberra. I am sure many of you have stopped on Northbourne Avenue to assist someone whose car has broken down. If they are travelling on the cheap they may ask, and I have been asked this on no few occasions, "Where is a good place to get this fixed?". It is difficult for someone coming into Canberra. They may ask, "Where do I get my car fixed? The darned axle has gone". Something else may have gone wrong with the car. Or you get somebody who is a competent motor fixer and who wants to know where he can take his car and work on it himself. There is nowhere at that very excellent information centre on Northbourne Avenue that will tell them that, but I have had that question asked of me. There is perhaps a gap there.
I note that there has been an increase in the range of accommodation at that lower end - that is an awful word to
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