Page 3650 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 13 September 2017
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I therefore welcome the government’s new tourism strategy, announced just this week. To have a centralised tourism plan will make for a coordinated and collaborative partnership between government and industry. Classifying events as global regular anchor events and one-off feature events, regional or local, will ensure that event organisers get the support they need from our government. This plan will ensure continued growth for Canberra. These initiatives will help put Canberra on track for the ACT Tourism 2020 goal of growing overnight expenditure to $2.5 billion.
With this plan in mind, I call for the government to explore further larger event options within the major events strategy. There is no doubt that our current events and festivals are successful. But we need to add to this success. Canberra cannot remain static. As our city grows, we must invest in new and exciting events and festivals that appeal to a diverse cross-section of the community. Target audiences should include families; overseas visitors, especially our regional neighbours; and, may I just add, young people.
Canberra has unique natural and cultural assets that should be utilised more to bring visitors to this city. The parliamentary triangle is one such example. As the seat of Australian democracy, it is a cultural icon not just for Canberra but for the whole of Australia.
The government must continue to encourage the continuing partnerships with other national cultural institutions such as the National Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and Questacon. Events and festivals should be encouraged to incorporate these natural and cultural assets where applicable. This will encourage the creation of more iconic Canberra events, continuing in the footsteps of Floriade.
Having young children should not be a barrier to enjoying events and festivals across Canberra. Existing events should be encouraged to incorporate a family-friendly option where applicable. The government must lead the way in organising additional family-friendly celebrations. This will open up these events to a larger sector of the population who may otherwise not attend. A family-friendly city will encourage more domestic and international visitors, and further contribute to our economy. On top of that, local Canberran mums and dads should not miss out on what Canberra has to offer just because they cannot find a babysitter.
Canberra is a growing city. We need a new festival that celebrates Canberra’s innovation, strengths and global outlook. Our city has changed and developed and continues to jump from strength to strength. We need a new festival that celebrates the achievements of our city. This will open up new markets, and encourage visitors who have different interests. It is vital that our events and festivals engage with the thousands of visitors coming from across Asia to visit Australia. Not to actively encourage the participation of these visitors would be a mistake. A new festival focusing on Canberra’s global outlook would be the perfect opportunity to engage with these visitors and show off our city to a global audience.
Canberra is home to successful music festivals including the Canberra Folk Festival, Groovin the Moo and Spilt Milk. I see the enthusiasm from—I am assuming—
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