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

likely to continue to increase and become an even more significant contributor to overall
Gross Regional Product (GRP)19.

Tourism has also been linked to stimulating expenditure / spending on other important
infrastructure – such as airports and major activity centres. Tourism can provide positive
international connections, and this, in turn, can create further business, interaction and
learning opportunities.

In addition to the economic benefits, many commentators20 note that there can also be
unintended economic costs associated with tourism. Costs associated with some regions
that are tourism-rich may include the following:

       •    Inflated / high property values precluding many locals (and particularly first home
            buyers / low to middle income earners) from participating in the housing market;
       •    Seasonal jobs within an economy, sometimes drastically, leading to uncertainty of
            employment at different stages throughout the year;
       •    A casualised workforce with many tourism jobs paying minimum wages, minimal (if
            any) worker benefits (such as pensions, sick pay, annual leave) and a narrow range
            of skills development opportunities;
       •    A dependency on tourism jobs, which can lead to an economy being narrowly
            focussed, many people becoming under-employed and an area’s economy becoming
            vulnerable to world events; and,
       •    A need to maintain currency of the tourism experience on offer in order to maintain
            competitiveness with other tourism destinations.

Social and Cultural Impacts of Tourism

The social and cultural benefits associated with the tourism sector can also be
considerable21. An area with high levels of tourism is also likely to have high amenity – either
natural amenity and/or through the built form, and therefore the level attractions,
entertainment, events and facilities can also be higher than in non-tourist areas. These
elements can provide opportunities for locals and visitors that they may not experience
elsewhere.

Tourism and the income it brings can also offer the chance for an area to show case its
culture and history, both natural and man-made, and by doing so can solidify its identity
(locally, nationally and internationally) and increase the sense of pride associated with an
area.


19
     https://www.tra.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/257/Tourism%20Forecasts.pdf.aspx?Embed=Y

20
   assessing the impacts of travel and tourism – Measuring economic costs, Chapter 33 in J.R. Brent Ritchie and
Charles R. Goeldner, editors, Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Research: A Handbook for Managers and
Researchers, 2nd edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1994.; Barcelona Field Studies, Tourism Costs and
Benefits, accessed March 2019, https://geographyfieldwork.com/TourismProsCons.htm; Annals of Tourism
Research, Volume 20, Issue 4, 1993, Pages 751-768: Assessing the benefits and costs of inbound tourism;
THOMAS MAGWANE, University of Johannesburg, Tourism and its economic benefits and costs, Accessed March
2019, https://www.slideshare.net/6419844/tourism-impacts-an; Alberto F. Lemma Overseas Development Institute
July 2014, Tourism Impacts

21
     ibid

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