3.2 Industry Structure, Partnerships & Alliances

Industry evolution

Successive tourism strategic plans 1993-1996 and 1997-2001 prepared by Tourism Victoria in conjunction with the tourism industry, identified the fragmented structure of the industry in Victoria as a barrier to the development of a commercially sustainable industry.

While the industry has become more united and cohesive in recent years, and the various industry and regional organisations better represent the needs of their respective memberships, all suffer from limited resources, competition for membership, potential duplication of services and in some cases, a lack of sustained professional leadership. This limits the ability of those organisations to meet the challenges from domestic and global competition and international political events, which increasingly threaten Victoria's market position and industry viability.

In many respects, the industry structure remains fragile and reliant on Tourism Victoria's strategies, initiatives and partnerships for leadership.

There are about 24 tourism industry sector organisations in Victoria, all of which have appropriate and legitimate roles. There are also about 100 local and regional tourism associations, a number of cooperative marketing committees and alliances and numerous municipal tourism boards.

In a broader context, there are related organisations in the leisure, recreation, research, museums, galleries and retail sectors; associations, unions and guilds dedicated to the professional development and working conditions of their members in the travel, tourism, hospitality and gaming industries; government agencies at all levels; statutory authorities; regional economic development boards and advisory committees; training and education institutions; and a cooperative research centre for sustainable tourism.

Not surprisingly, there remains widespread confusion about the structure of the industry and the roles and value of various organisations. For operators and others, there are also significant concerns about the affordability of cumulatively or individually high membership and participation fees. There are also concerns about the most appropriate and effective means of having industry issues addressed and accessing professional development, networking and marketing opportunities.

At a national level, the demise of the former peak industry organisation Tourism Council Australia 2000, left an industry leadership void.

Current Tourism Industry Structure

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Victorian Tourism Industry Council (VTIC)

During 2001, the industry recognised the need for the development of a peak organisation to represent Victoria's tourism industry, and to provide a united, and representative voice to government, the industry and the community that matched the strength and contribution of tourism.

The VTIC was subsequently formed as the peak private sector and independent organisation to represent Victoria's tourism industry. The Council's purpose is to provide recognised and credible leadership, advocacy and representation for Victoria's diverse tourism industry. This includes harnessing industry associations to work collaboratively, raising the profile of the industry in the public and private sector and general community and developing mechanisms to facilitate dissemination of information throughout the industry supply chain.

During the life of this plan the industry has the opportunity to unite through leadership of the VTIC to establish a viable self-sufficient industry structure accountable for its growth and commercial sustainability.

The industry can also develop alliances with other business sectors and the community to achieve due recognition for the economic, social and environmental benefits of tourism.

For the first two years of its operation, VTIC will operate as an independent policy council with an independent chairperson, within the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI). During this time professional support services will be provided to VTIC by VECCI.

VTIC is comprised of peak industry sector associations with full voting power, corporate members represented by two members with voting rights and affiliate members such as government agencies, education and training institutions. VTIC has no reliance on government funding.

With the creation of VTIC, the tourism industry in Victoria is at a pivotal point in its evolution. The industry has the opportunity to identify and act on impediments to industry growth and optimise the collective strength of industry membership by advancing a single industry membership model.

Strategies

• Continue to support the development of the Victorian Tourism Industry Council as the peak independent and representative tourism industry organisation in Victoria.
  
• Encourage the vertical integration of VTIC with other industry sector organisations, affiliate organisations, and individuals in the tourism industry.
  
• Develop common membership models that minimise business operator membership choices and fees. Replace income from membership fees with charges for service activities that provide business benefits.

Industry sector organisations

Victoria's industry organisations have common needs for services such as secretariat, corporate governance, finance and accounting, membership services, training, and information technology.

Resource sharing, the integration of membership and the standardisation of minimum membership fees, would significantly reduce costs, increase membership and involvement, decrease operator confusion and still provide revenue streams to individual organisations. This would allow organisations to direct their efforts towards representation, membership services, business development, research, policy development, networking, professionalism, standards and industry sustainability.

Some cooperative resource sharing initiatives have been developed, such as the strategic alliance between the Hotel Motel Accommodation Association of Victoria, the Bed and Breakfast Council of Victoria and Farm and Country Tourism Victoria. A brief description of Victoria's industry sector organisations is provided in Appendix D.

Strategies

• Encourage alliances between industry sector organisations with a view to greater horizontal and vertical integration.

Local and regional tourism organisations

Strong, well managed and professional Regional Tourism Associations (RTAs) and Local Tourism Associations (LTAs) are pivotal to sustainable growth of the industry. To achieve best practice effectiveness these organisations should be private sector driven and supported by local government. The primary role of regional associations is cooperative destination marketing whereas the most effective role for local associations to focus on is visitor services. To achieve industry maturity RTAs and LTAs will need to play an enhanced leadership and commercially focused role, be professionally managed and accountable. This is considered in more detail in the Marketing Regional Victoria section of this plan (Chapter 4).

Strategies

• Encourage and facilitate efficient, effective and industry led regional tourism associations as commercial umbrella destination marketing organisations and local tourism associations focused on visitor services.

Cooperative marketing bodies and alliances

There are several organisations and numerous committees in Victoria which have been established to maximise industry coordination and financial involvement in targeted marketing programs and campaigns. These include the Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau, Destination Melbourne Inc., regional campaign committees, Regional Victoria Conference Group, Great Southern Touring Route Inc. and Valley of the Arts Tourism Marketing Board.

These commercially focused cooperative marketing alliances help increase industry cohesion and professionalism and optimise the impact of marketing dollars.

Strategies

• Encourage alliances and cooperative marketing partnerships between tourism operators, tourism associations, marketing committees, local government and others.

Campaign committees

Campaign committees provide the organising framework for the Regional Cooperative Marketing Program and other cooperative marketing activity in support of Tourism Victoria's Jigsaw campaign. There are 12 campaign committees across Victoria in addition to Destination Melbourne Inc. The role and strategic direction for campaign committees is discussed in the Marketing Regional Victoria section of this plan (Chapter 4).

Local Government

Each of the 78 local governments in Victoria has a crucial role to play in tourism through supporting local and regional tourism associations, providing visitor services and community amenities and facilitating regional development activity. In many municipalities tourism advisory boards provide strategic input to tourism planning and marketing and act as a conduit to council. The role of local government in regional Victoria is discussed further in the Marketing Regional Victoria section of this plan (Chapter 4).

Strategies

• Continue to promote the value of tourism to municipal governments.
  
• Facilitate appropriate tourism structures that meet local government needs for efficiency, effectiveness and accountability while promoting industry self-reliance.

City of Melbourne

A vibrant, healthy and welcoming city makes a desirable tourism destination. City of Melbourne is involved in a wide range of infrastructure, provision of visitor services and other projects which aim to develop Melbourne as an accessible, innovative, vital, inclusive, engaging and environmentally responsible city. This has benefits for the Victorian community generally and the tourism industry in particular.

City of Melbourne provides a range of information services for visitors and partners with Tourism Victoria, Destination Melbourne Inc. and the tourism industry to promote the attractiveness of Melbourne to national and international markets.

The strategic tourism priorities for Melbourne are discussed in more detail in the Marketing Melbourne (Chapter 4) and Customer Services (Chapter 6) sections of the plan.

State and Commonwealth Governments

Tourism Victoria and the tourism industry will benefit by working in close cooperation with other parts of the State (a brief explanation of key agencies is provided in Appendix D) and Commonwealth (outline of key agencies is provided below) governments. This will ensure all agencies are aware of the value of tourism and therefore support the development of the industry by helping to provide a quality, seamless experience for visitors.

Australian Tourist Commission (ATC)

The ATC is an Australian Government Statutory Authority established in 1967 to promote Australia to the world as an international tourism destination. Its activities are aimed at increasing the number of international visitors to Australia, targeting high spending visitors and encouraging travel beyond the major gateways of Australia to help spread the benefits of tourism across the country. The ATC's vision and mission are focused on becoming more open, operating in closer partnership with key external stakeholders, rationalising the structure and moving into new business partnerships and seeking new revenue-generating opportunities. Tourism Victoria and the industry work cooperatively with the ATC in targeted international markets.

Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources

The Department develops, implements and administers the Federal Government's tourism policy and programs. The work of the department's tourism division is focused on developing a sustainable, international competitive and innovative tourism industry.

The Bureau of Tourism Research (BTR)

The BTR is a joint state and federal government agency which collects, analyses and disseminates information about the Australian tourism industry to the general public, government and industry. BTR produces the International Visitor Survey, the National Visitor Survey, occasional papers, research papers, conference papers and proceedings.

Tourism Forecasting Council (TFC)

The TFC provides present and potential tourism investors, tourism operators and governments with forecasts of activity across all tourism sectors including domestic, international and outbound tourism. The TFC produces a regular report on the tourism industry called Forecast, as well as special research reports. The Council is comprised of representatives of the private and public sectors in the tourism and finance industries. The BTR provides secretariat services to the TFC.

Tourism Ministers' Council (TMC)

The main role of the TMC is to facilitate consultation and policy co-ordination between Ministers of the Commonwealth, all Australian States and Territories, and New Zealand. Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea and the Australian Tourist Commission are observers on the committee. The Council is supported by the Australian Standing Committee on Tourism. The Sport and Tourism Division of DITR, provides the secretariat for TMC and its Standing Committee.