The tourism industry has taken a severe beating in the financial crisis, with new figures released by the ABS indicating the number of tourists visiting Australia has dropped substantially.
In the ACT, the number of tourists visiting the region fell, with only 70 percent of hotel rooms in the territory occupied in the December quarter, 1 percent less than the same period last year.
Tourism Industry Council spokesman Joseph Griffiths believes the drop is due to the declining economy, with figures predicted to get worse before they improve.
“We anticipate a bigger decline because our markets that feed into the ACT, mainly Sydney and regional New South Wales, are all going to be feeling the pinch of job losses, and companies downscaling.”
Queensland Tourism is also feeling the pinch of the crisis, with jobs being cut at popular Sunshine Coast tourism hot spots, UnderWater World and Australia Zoo, due to low visitor numbers.
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