Comparison of Australia and Canadas Tourism Policies and Regulations - Essay Example

Comparison of Australia and Canada’s Tourism Policies and Regulations Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Comparison of Australia and Canada’s tourism policies and regulations Introduction Tourism can be described as the travel for various reasons such as leisure, business, or even recreational purposes. Tourism is well known for its economic advantages worldwide. People travel from their normal environment to other places in the world for various reasons. Tourism can be either being local or international tourism. Tourism can cost a lot of money especially if it is international, so proper financial preparation is particularly powerful. Tourism is an industry that is growing rapidly although some factors such as terrorism and diseases like influenza can profoundly affect the growth of tourism. This essay focuses on tourism in Canada and Australia with regard to the policies that regulate this industry there. This paper will also focus on the policies closely related to my career choice after graduation. The effectiveness of each policy will be analyzed, and their advantages stated. Globally, international tourism plays a particularly significant role in the socioeconomic and political scenes. Tourism in Australia Australia, being a beautiful and vast country, has attracted many tourists. The tourists are delighted by the many wonders that the country holds. Numerous places are available for one to visit according to the experience they would like to have. Activities range from adventurous exploration, to site seeing, including wildlife, experiencing spectacular cultures, and for the water lovers, there are spectacular beaches. The tourism industry in Australia has been known to worth $94.7 billion. From the revenue collected, just over 65% accounted for by domestic tourism, which is an estimated figure of $62.6 billion, where as $22.3 billion injected into the Australian economy, by International tourists (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009/10). The statistics also show that 3.7 % of Australians gross domestic product (GDP) is made up of the tourism industry. Employment sector has also improved as the industry has an estimated number of 482,800 people (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009/10). This has led to the growth of Australians economy. A study carried out has revealed that the most prominent sectors of the tourism industry comprise of both water and air transport, retail trade and most eateries. The government of Australia is making measures of innovation in the industry of tourism ensure that it maximally contributes to the country’s economy. In the case, of harsh international conditions, that would make the economy fall due to a fall in the contributions by the service industry (Forssen et al. 2004). Competitiveness in the tourism industry of Australia on the world stage is maintained on an upscale level. The Australian Tax Policy Regarding the Tourism Sector Policies in Australia are extremely beneficial in embarking on the mission of preservation, high quality service provision, and marketing, which aims at increasing the international industry and it, is for such reasons (OECD, 2003) that the tourism policies have been reviewed severally in Australia. In the past decade, this industry has performed marvelously for the nation’s economy. The OECD tourism committee did the review of the tourism policy. The taxation policy of Australia is in such a way that it promotes tourism. Reforms in the land tax, payroll tax and stamp duty structure like the property and labor incentive ensured that the tourism industry is at an advantageous position like other tax free or labor intensive industries (OECD, 2003). Businesses also receive incentive through tax deductions for training their staff and for research and development. Hence, tourism businesses are encouraged in their performances. Tourism investors and operators are provided with horizontal equity through tax averaging. Revision of the tax schedules is beneficial to the tourism industry (OECD, 2003). The schedules, which cover assets, for example, hotel furniture reflects the real assets economic life. All these reforms encourage the tourism sector investors Policies have been developed that protect the surroundings. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 was developed mainly for this purpose, by strengthening intergovernmental association and through the reduction of duplication by bilateral agreements the policy achieves its purposes of maintain the environment (Hollick, 2003, p. 40). The act ensures that protection is given to the areas, which are of national environmental significance. Conservation and protection of heritage and bio diversity is promoted. It also encourages sustainable, ecological developments in the country (Hollick, 2003, p. 45). Indigenous people are protected by the act, which also promotes their role in the conservation and maintenance of the biodiversity, ecological environment. Advantages of Tourism Policies in Australia The policies protect the environment and the indigenous people of the country. These policies are beneficial in the tourism industry in ensuring that there is conservation of tourists’ area and the environment itself (World Tourism Organization, 2010). This facilitates the preservation of natural resources, and thus, contributes to the increase of tourist attraction site in the country. Through the tax incentives in the tourism industry, businesses are encouraged in their operations, and more investors are attracted to invest in the industry, as the working environment is suitable. The incentives give business people a chance to venture into other fields that contribute to the building of tourist attraction centers (World Tourism Organization, 2010). The policies encourage massive employment and development of employees, for example, the labor incentive act. This policy has enabled Australians population to improve their living conditions and hence, majority of the people are employed, which in turn, raises the country’s GDP (UNEP, 2005). These policies encourage the diversification of both new and old local businesses in the industry. Services and facilities of the businesses are also improved, which brings about innovation practices in the country (Eagles, Bowman, & Chang-Hung Tao, 2001). People invent things that add value to their life and are educative. As a result, knowledge is gained through this industry. Policies on the preservation of culture and heritage have led to the development of communities and management of environment improved. Disadvantages of Australia Policy of Tourism The Australian policy of tourism has many advantages, although, some of its aspects that are not suitable. By encouraging tourism, there is the likelihood that the cultural identity of the country may be lost through the catering of international markets needs. Another disadvantage is that the policies favor the tourism sector (UNEP, 2005). This is causing unfavorable competition of the sector compared with others in the state of Australia. Tourism in Canada Canada is an exceptionally beautiful and attractive place to visit filled with cities that are attractive to the splashing falls. The hotels within the cities are tremendously lavish, attracting hundreds of thousands to millions of tourists, who are either local or international tourists. From reported research, the size of Canada in the world is the second largest country (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2009, p. 20). Four cities play a key role in fueling Canada’s economy with regard to tourism. These include Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver. Tourism in Canada is so diverse as compared to Australia. Canada has several provinces each contributing differently to the tourism industry. The CTC stands for Canadian Tourism Commission established in 1995, for the capitalization of the international industry. It can be cited from the CTC, "it is dedicated to promoting the growth and profitability of the Canadian tourism industry by marketing Canada as a desirable travel destination and providing timely and accurate information to the Canadian tourism industry to assist in its decision making" (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2009, p. 25). Tourism Policy in Canada For every country, it is essential for policies to be in place for the regulation of issues that concern taxation or environment preservation (Marquez, & Eagles, 2007). CTC plays a critical part in the making, reviewing, and execution of policies regarding tourism. In Canada, tourists are entitled to tax refund, which they paid on GST/HST. CTC, formed in 1995, promotes Canadian leisure industry to exploit international industries as a developing trade (Gupta, S et al. 2007). It is devoted to promoting development and productivity of the tourism business by promoting the country as a tourist destination that provides timely and precise information relating to the business, which assists leaders in decision-making activities. This joint venture is unique to the public and private sector and provides the tourism industry with an innovative approach: industry driven by the market (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2009). Consequently, CTC recognizes the ultimate source of the tourism industry as information and skill, therefore, for initiatives of marketing and research; it designs, delivers, and funds programs. Advantages of Canadian Tourism Policy Policies on investment encourage investment in the tourism sector. Businesses are provided with suitable environments for their development, which brings in more revenue to the country and the economy level rises. Consequently, they become paramount traders in the global market and enables people venture into dynamic fields of marketing, which has improved their production and distribution sectors (Jameson, 2000, p. 45). Other policies that cause a reduction in the competition of Canadian airports encourage tourism as people find it easy to travel to the country. As compared to other places like the United States of America, these policies are beneficial in relation to the tourism industry. However, due to more investments in the country, employment opportunities are created especially for the youth this reduces the level of unemployment (Canadian travel and tourism business). By reducing unemployment, cases of criminal acts have also been reduced to beef up the security of the country (World Tourism Organization, 2010). This has made tourists visiting the country feel comfortable and relaxed since their properties are safe. The environmental protections regulation ensures that no pollution is present in the environment, and there is protection of significant sectors in the country (Career in Hospitality and Tourism Management). This enhances Canada as a destination for tourists. Disadvantages of Tourism Policies They encourage a lot of investment in the tourism sector. In the end, this may end up to losses incurred as the industry may be facing unfavorable competition. The NAFTA policy has led to Canada being dependent on their neighbor the USA (Canada Tourism Policies and Trends). This dependency has deprived them of their independence in investing and participating in activities that add their revenue. They promote to the loss of culture of the country as others (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2009, p. 45) overpower some laws. For example, their dependence on USA has led many of their youths to engage in illegal activities. They also appreciate other people’s culture and tradition and promote them. Even though, there has been reported increased job opportunities created in the sector other industrialization sectors are reporting job losses not considered as much like the tourism sector (Forssen et al. 2004). In both countries, we can get to see of the comparison of policies of tourism. Example in the tax policy, both countries have the policy for visitor tax refund. This is where an international visitor who is a non-resident is eligible for a tax refund after spending on hotel accommodations or spending on tour travel packages. This is only applicable after they spend a minimum amount of their money on the expenditures (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2009, p. 50). An additional similarity is their labor laws. Both countries encourage employment in the tourism industry through giving businesses incentives and allowing them to enhance their employee’s efficiency through research and development. Conclusion For such a large network of tourisms, there must rules and regulations or rather policies set to nurture the growth of this industry and channel it towards preservation of natures spectacular gift to man, safety of tourists and locals and course the generation of handsome profits. Through marketing of a country, it has to ensure that its policies are set in a way that will bring more benefit than a loss to a country. It is imperative for a country to review its policies to meet the changing world and ensure efficiency in the sector. References Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2009/10). "Tourism Satellite Account 2010-11: Key Figures". Tourism Australia Annual Report 2009-2010. Retrieved 3 May, 2012 from Read More