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Introduction

Tourism, though not being an industry in conventional sense, but it contribute


largely to the development of national economy. There are many factors which make up
the tourism industry with relation to some other industries such as hospitality and events
sectors, which include the contribution to national gross value added, the amount of
employment and the type of businesses operating in the industry. This essay would
discuss these aspects of tourism industry, giving some forecast about its developing trend
which also brings some new career opportunities for students in the future.
Content

Discuss the size and what sectors make up the tourism, hospitality and events
sector (you can choose to focus on one sector). Provide research to support this.
Tourism is a sector made up of many industry participants. There are wide range of
industry participants which can influence on tourism product and the visitor experience
including but not limited to accommodation, food service, tourism operators, tourist
attractions, transport, tourist agent, business and major events, recreation, and educational
and cultural services. These are also services which are included in hospitality industry.
Tourism is defined by the United Nations World Tourism Organization: Tourism
comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual
environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other
purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place
visited. On the contrary to the usual industries which are usually classified by their
product or services, tourism is defined by the consumer of the product or service.
Besides, many businesses in tourism, hospitality and events sectors operate in two or
more sectors. For example, hotels the identity of hospitality industry, need tourism to
maintain their operation. Events are usually linked with the hotel and tourism.
From the above definition about Tourism, we would explore some elements establishing
tourism sectors:

- TOURISM GROSS VALUE ADDED (GVA)


Tourism Research Australia, (2015) has reported that in 2013 -2014, the direct
tourism GVA of Australia was nearly $39.9 billion dollar, increasing of 3.4%. The factor
which contribute the most to that increase is travelling for Education and training which
rise up 7.8% to $2.7 billion. This is explained the present trend that there are more and
more students want to study in Australian schools and universities. The other factors also
experienced the increases in GVA such as Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food outlets,
Clubs, pubs, taverns and bars, and Air, water and other transport. Surprisingly, the
contribution of tourism to national GVA is larger than that of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries industry, with $82 billion. (The contribution of indirect tourism is $42.2 billion)
- TOURISM EMPLOYMENT
The report of Tourism Research Australia (2015) presented that on the contrary to
the increase in Gross value added figure of Tourism, the employment in this industry has
fell with the decrease of 5,600 jobs. This is mainly coming from the decrease of female
labor force in this phase (down 1.4 per cent, or 4,200 jobs) and full-time staffs (down
1.2 per cent, or 3,500 jobs). However, the employment in tourism industry is still higher
than the figure of Mining, Agriculture, forestry and fishing, and financial and insurance
services industries. This is still the industry which attract the large amount of labor,
especially the direct labor force.
- BUSINESSES
As at June 2013, the number of tourism businesses in Australia were
approximately 267,000, accounting 13 per cent of the total 2.1 million businesses in
Australia. Among them, nearly 95 per cent were either non-employing, micro or small
businesses. 65% of tourism businesses were located in a capital city (including the Gold
Coast), with 21.5 per cent of total businesses located in Sydney. Meanwhile, regional
businesses were tend to be employing businesses (61 per cent employing at least one
person), and to be small businesses (37 per cent of employing businesses), explained by
Tourism Research Australia (2015).

There are some other factors can define the size and scale of tourism industry such
as: the contribution in national GDP, the purpose of the travel and so on.

The current growth and trends which are emerging in tourism industry
Overall, the economies of Australia is forecasted to grow in the future. Australia
would be expected to participate more deeply and widely into the international market,
which can lead to the increase of international visitors coming to Australia. With the
increasing strongly of Chinese economy, it is expected that the number of Chinese
visitors coming to Australia continue to account a large number of total travelers to 2020.
The ratio of annual growth of international visitors is forecasted to be nearly 2% per year.
There is also the change in the purpose of traveling in the future. Leisure travel has
tendency to become the main force of increase in number of visiting, up to 4.9 percent
per annum over the 5 years 2015-2020. The share of visitor nights spent in Hotels,
Motels, Serviced Apartments are expected to decrease from 11.1 per cent in 201415 to
10.5 per cent in 201920. (Tourism Research Australia, 2015).
Discuss the types of employment opportunities in the industry you are
focusing on
The special characteristic of tourism industry is that it is very seasonal. In 2015,
51% of tourism businesses identified as being seasonal (Tourism Research Australia,
2015). This would lead to the fluctuation in to the demand of employment in the industry.
This is reflected in a relatively low proportion of full time workers in the sector, at around
35%, well below the average across other sectors. The average business employed 19
workers, a slight increase since the last survey
Work in the service industries dominates the economy, and working in these
industries demands a range of different skills to those required in other industries, such as
traditional trades75. The reality is that the majority of jobs that will be available in the
service industries in the future will be at entry level that is, Certificates II and III. These
skill levels suit the majority of employer needs, with most employees commencing with
basic skills in customer service and then, for some, gaining skills and experience in
specialized fields.

The career path I would like to have


Thus from the analyzing above, I can see that in the future the employment opportunity in
Australia is expanding with the broadening of the market demand. However, the
competition would increase with the increasing of requirement from the employer.
Therefore, I would like to improve my skills and try to take certificates II and III to meet
the requirement of the employer. The market still attract the new employee to joint in, so
I just need to equip myself with full skills to ready to work in this industry.
Conclusion
In conclusion it can be said that Tourism industry plays key role in the development of
Australian economy, which is made up of many industry participant such as the
employment, the business, and the relation to some other industry. The industry would
expand in the future, which also enlarge the labor market of the industry. Therefore, in
order to join in this industry, I need to equip myself with full of skills because there
would be many opportunities for the new employee to join in.

References
1. Australian Trade Commission, 2015, Australian tourism labour force report,
Deloitte Access Economics
2. Tourism Research Australia, 2015, State of the industry,
3. Tourism Research Australia, 2015, Toursim Business in Australia

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