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

7.      Summary and Conclusion

Overall Value of Tourism

The policy environment in Noosa recognises the importance of Tourism to the economy, and
rightly so. The value of tourism in Noosa is substantial and the tourism industry is the
highest contributor to the value-added component of Noosa’s Gross Regional Product. It is a
growing industry in Noosa and has almost doubled its worth to the economy over the last
decade.

With an estimated direct value add of some $262 million in 2016 and an indirect value-
added impact of $251 million, tourism’s overall contribution to the economy is nearly half a
billion dollars per annum.

The tourism industry sustains a significant number of jobs in Noosa, and supports other
industry sectors through supplier chains and consumer impacts. It has been estimated that
employment numbers in tourism was around 3,677 direct jobs (or 2,648 EFT jobs) in 2016,
and that these numbers give rise to a further 2,108 indirect jobs (or 1,944 EFT jobs) through
industry and consumption linkages. Thus tourism is contributing to in excess of 5,700 jobs
(or 4,600 FTE jobs) in the Noosa community.

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.

Utilising the value-added to GRP measure, the industry with the closest level of impacts to
tourism is Health Care and Social Assistance ($249.5 million). In comparison, the
construction industry sector has been estimated to be worth nearly $200 million to the
Noosa economy, and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services $180 million.

It is noted that tourism is not a separately recognised industry and its worth is estimated by
combining value-added components from tourism-related industries such 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.


Summary of Tourism Benefits in Noosa

As well as the actual value generated for the economy from tourism, there are other
benefits to a community associated with tourism and tourism industries. Based on the
research conducted for this commission, a summary of the extent to which Noosa
experiences economic, social and environmental benefits from tourism is provided below.




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