Taking one three significant portfolios is not an easy feat. However, for the member of Moncrieff – an electorate primarily made up of the sunny and idyllic Gold Coast – becoming the Minister for Tourism was a natural progession.
“Tourism is the single biggest employer [in the Gold Coast], and there’s really two principle industries that drive this city – tourism and construction,” he says.
“People are staying longer, they’re spending more money. If you speak to local retailers and businesses in the tourism sector, they quite buoyant about it.”
It’s not just the Gold Coast that’s experiencing a tourism boom. Australia-wide, tourism numbers have risen, mostly part to the influx of Chinese tourists.
“We’ve got nearly a million people coming from China a year and there are big plans to keep growing. We’ve got a strategy in place to really grow tourism numbers, especially Chinese tourism numbers, so think about what you can do culturally to tap into that market.”
Tourism and construction are the two main industries in the Gold Coast. Source: Supplied
However, Ciobo admits that business success ultimately comes down to a myriad of factors, and businesses generally should not be struggled in the “Golden Age” of Tourism.
This is a bit of a Golden Age right now in tourism. The dollar’s down, numbers are up, spending is up and length of stay is up. So if you’re in the tourism industry, you should be seeing those results,” he says.
“If you’re in small business and you’re finding that you’re not having really strong cashflow, you’re not finding great revenues, then that’s a problem you need to be looking at your business.”
The Minister also says, “The government’s doing what we can to reduce the tax burden and to make it easier for businesses to do well.”
"It's the Golden Age of tourism" says the Minister. Source: Supplied
A part of that is what many believe was a backflip on the backpacker tax, in which the government dumped plans to impose a 32.5% tax on backpacker workers in September.
According to the Minister, that was after community consultations and discussions with many small businesses that would be affected by the tax. Growers had seen a dramatic drop in job applications for fruit-picking season.
Instead, under a compromise deal, working holiday makers will be taxed at 19% from their first dollar earned.
It’s not only the Minister’s tourism portfolio that affects small businesses, but also his trade portfolio. His advice for small businesses? Look into trading with emerging Asian markets.
“We just secured three major free trade agreements with China, South Korea and Japan, plus we’ve just recently reached a new comprehensive agreement with Singapore.
Want to find out the secret to small business success? Tune into #BizSecretsSBS at Sundays 5pm on SBS, stream on , or follow us on , or .
