2020-01-13 GC Agenda - Item 10 - Attachment 2 - The Value of Tourism to the Noosa Community October 2019 FINAL REPORT

By the direct value-added to GRP measure, the five most valuable industries in Noosa are:

    •   Health Care and Social Assistance ($249.5 million)
    •   Construction ($198.7 million)
    •   Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services ($190.9 million)
    •   Retail Trade     ($186.3 million)
    •   Professional, Scientific and Technical Services ($176.8 million)

Estimates of value-added for the tourism industry have been estimated by id in a separate
modelling exercise. Economy.id estimated the direct value-added from tourism at $262
million, which would make it the largest industry in Noosa, above health care and social
assistance.

The significant impact of tourism was reinforced by the business survey results completed
for this study. The outcomes of the survey indicated that of those who responded, 75
percent of businesses indicated they would be less profitable without tourists, and of these,
42 percent indicated that they would cease operations without the tourist trade.

It is noted that tourism is not a separately recognised industry and is estimated by taking
value-added from tourism-related industries such as accommodation and food services, arts
and recreation, and retail, amongst others. Accommodation and food services as a stand-
alone industry ranks 7th, with a value-added of $165 million.

If basing regional development policy on the theory of comparative advantage, government
should focus on developing industries where they have a natural, historical or social
advantage, as this would give the local community the best chance of sustainable long-term
growth. Tourism is well positioned in this regard and therefore is maintained as a focus. As
well as tourism generally, industries with competitive strengths in Noosa (based on an LQ
analysis) are:

    •   Accommodation and Food Services
    •   Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services
    •   Administrative and Support Services
    •   Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
    •   Retail Trade
    •   Financial and Insurance Services

Some industries are highly focused on selling to the local population while others are export
industries. The mix between sales and exports can tell you about the nature of the industry
in the area. The accommodation and food services (and much of retail trade), in the context
of Noosa, is an export industry.

Accommodation and food services produce the highest export value ($202 million) for
Noosa and is the only industry sector that sells more goods and services to non-resident
households or businesses than those based locally. Retail trade ($118 million), health care
and social assistance ($93 million) are the second and third largest industry sectors based on
exports.

Exports in the context of accommodation and food services and retail trade refer to tourism
products and service provided to anyone from outside of Noosa who visits. These visitors
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