Forget about another mining boom – The Tourist Boom has begun!
There is a very interesting article just released in Business News Australia this week that is worthy of a read concerning our current and expanding tourist boom. The article was written by Nick Nicols.
FEARS of faltering Chinese growth and a global downturn are all playing in Australia’s favour with one forecaster predicting we are on the verge of a new economic boom, and one that’s likely to last for some time
Dr Frank Gelber, chief economist with BIS Shrapnel, told a Brisbane briefing that the next growth story unfolding for the Australian economy is in the services sector, and particularly tourism and education.
Both of these industry sectors are now exceeded pre-GFC levels, picking up strength after years of ‘repression’ from a strong dollar that at one stage was trading above parity with the US currency.
“We ain’t seen nothing yet,” says Gelber. “Five years from now these sectors will be booming, and I don’t use that term lightly.”
While China may be perceived as the growth market in both education and tourism, Gelber forecasts domestic travellers will be a major driver of momentum. He says education will also be a conduit for increased migration, adding to the economic growth story.
Gelber forecasts tourism regions such as the Gold Coast and Cairns will be in the sweet spot of the looming boom, driving population and construction growth.
“They will be the big growth regions of the future,” he says.
“Retail sales will be picking up, housing demand will be picking up. We will see a classic upswing, the sort of thing that we saw in the mining regions, but not as strong, not as quick and not as fickle.
“What we’ve seen now are only the beginnings of a pick-up. We’ve got a long catch-up to go to get back to where we would have been if not for a high dollar.
“If you look at tourist towns they were booming before the dollar went up, then fell into a long period of dismal, suppressed activity.
“Now the tourists are coming back, not just from overseas but more particularly domestic tourists as well. That is boosting activity across the board and it will end up boosting population growth.
Full article can be found at: http://goo.gl/9mvGTA
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