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Website : www.noleavenolife.com 
 
  
Tourism figures mean investment from Territory and Federal Budgets is Vital  
 
The Chamber of Commerce NT, the Northern Territory’s largest and most representative business organisation, representing over 1,200 businesses Territory wide is calling for a focus on tourism in the upcoming Territory and Federal Budgets.  
 
Chamber of Commerce NT’s call comes amid warnings by a major tourism lobby, The Tourism and Transport Forum, that 29,000 jobs could be lost in Australia’s tourism industry as economic conditions look set to worsen.  
 
Chamber of Commerce NT Chief Executive Chris Young said today that tourism is a major employer with approximately 12,458 Territorians (12.1% of the Territory workforce) employed by tourism industries.  
 
“Tourism is vital to the Territory economy and with Tourism NT already reporting falling visitor numbers it is vital that governments pay urgent attention to the impact on the Territory tourism industry of the global economic downturn,” Mr Young says.  
 
“Tourism is also a labour-intensive sector. It is vital in the upcoming Territory Budget that:  
• Core funding be maintained to Tourism NT  
• There is ongoing support for major events – sporting, cultural and tourism  
• The Nature-Based Tourism Strategy be implemented to build regional jobs  
• That there is continuing and adequate support of the conference business in both Darwin and Alice Springs”  
 
“This is also why The Chamber of Commerce NT strongly supports Tourism Australia’s No Leave, No Life campaign which aims to inject some of the more than $33.3 billion in stockpiled annual leave nationally by assisting employees and employers to plan and take a break in Australia.”  
 
“Many regional tourism zones are especially vulnerable as the numbers of people employed directly or indirectly in the tourism industry often eclipses those in metropolitan areas.”  
 
 
“As with other business sectors, the cruel impact of the financial crisis demands a national solution. Federal, State and Territory tourism authorities much work effectively together to drive the success of innovative programs such as Tourism Australia’s No Leave, No Life.”  
 
“Governments must also act immediately to remove or drastically reduce payroll tax, which impacts on labour intensive sectors such as tourism. As the economic outlook worsens they cannot continue to justify such a regressive tax on the jobs of Australian employees and their families”, says Mr Young.  
 
Further information contact  
Chris Young  
Chief Executive  
Ph: 08 8982 8121  

 
Chamber of Commerce NT is the Territory’s peak business organisation. We are proud to have the strongest voice advocating for the interests of Territory business.