1. Submission to the
Department of
Infrastructure, Local
Government and
Planning
on the
Draft Planning
Regulation
Queensland Tourism Industry Council
Po Box 13162
George Street QLD 4003
P (07) 3236 1445
F (07) 3236 4552
E policy@qtic.com.au
www.qtic.com.au
January 2016

2. 2 | P a g e
QTIC Submission
Introduction
The Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to
the Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning on the proposed state planning system
reforms. QTIC supports the Palaszczuk Government’s strong ambition to deliver ‘a better planning system
that enables responsible development and delivers prosperity, sustainability and liveability for now and
into the future’. The overarching goal of ‘ecological sustainability’ in planning is critical to the sustainable
development of the Queensland tourism industry.
Tourism in Queensland
Tourism is a key economic driver in many Queensland regions, supporting regional employment and
community growth, employing over 230,000 people directly and indirectly, or 9.9% of all people
employed in Queensland.1
This is substantially more than the mining sector (79,000 direct jobs) or even
agriculture, forestry and fishing combined (56,900 direct jobs) 2
. The tourism industry in Queensland
contributed $23 billion to Queensland’s Gross State Product (GSP), representing 7.9% of total GSP and
generated $5.8 billion in exports in the year ending June 2014, making it the state’s second largest export
earner behind coal2
.
In the year ending June 2015, Queensland hosted 129.2 million visitor nights, a daily average of 353,855
visitors across Queensland visiting tourism venues and using the public infrastructure in our towns and
cities3
– this number of visitors is greater than the combined urban centre resident population of
Townsville (157,748) and Cairns (133,893) 4
.
Tourism is identified as a key growth sector for achieving Queensland’s future economic prosperity
potential.
Queensland Tourism Industry Council
QTIC is the state peak body for tourism in Queensland. The voice of tourism, QTIC represents the
interests of the tourism industry, including business operators, Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs)
and sector associations.
QTIC is a private sector, membership-based tourism industry organisation; all of Queensland’s 13 RTOs
are members of QTIC as are 20 of the industry sector associations and in excess of 3,000 regional
members, operating in all sectors of the tourism industry. QTIC works in partnership with government
agencies and industry bodies at a local, state and national level (National Tourism Alliance), to strengthen
the voice of tourism in all relevant policy forums.
QTIC remains committed to working with government and industry through the following national and
state strategies and working groups:
- Australian Government, Tourism 2020, Tourism Industry Potential;
- Labour and Skills Working Group;
- Queensland Government, DestinationQ Industry Partnership Agreement and 12 Month Action
Plan.
1
Tourism Research Australia, State Tourism Satellite Accounts 2013-14, released April 2015.
2
Tourism Queensland, Tourism Economic Key Facts, September 2015.
3
Tourism Research Australia, National and International Visitors Survey, June 2015.
4
Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2011 Census data.

3. 3 | P a g e
QTIC Submission
QTIC was involved in the development of the 2013 Queensland Government publication titled Next
Generation Tourism Planning: A guideline for planners in Queensland.
FEDERAL TOURISM INITATIVES
In December 2011, the Federal Government announced its national strategy Tourism 2020, with a goal of
doubling the value of tourism to $140 billion by 2020. One of the key factors that will dictate the success
or failure of Australia’s tourism industry in achieving its global potential is to meet the expected surge in
demand with sufficient increases from the supply side of the tourism industry, such as tourism, aviation
capacity and transport infrastructure.
In the recently released report by Deloitte titled “Positioning for prosperity? Catching the next wave”,
global growth trends and Australia’s areas of advantage were examined. Results showed that our next
waves of prosperity were likely to come from five sectors: tourism, gas, agribusiness, international
education and wealth management.
The report states, “there is a lot more potential growth in the pipeline [for Australia], with tourism
projected to be among the world’s fastest growing industries. Our forecasts have it growing 4% a year
from now to 2033 – that is, more than doubling in size over the next two decades. Even better, many of
those new travellers will depart from Asia”.
STATE TOURISM INITATIVES
The Queensland Government has committed to The Queensland Plan: Queenslander’s 30-year vision as
the strategic policy framework for Queensland. Developing a coherent suite of policies and plans which
are consistent, compatible and share the objectives of The Queensland Plan will instil confidence in the
community and across industries.
The Queensland Government and the Queensland tourism industry share an ambition to restore
Queensland’s position as Australia’s premier tourism state. The former government supported a goal of
doubling visitor expenditure, to $30 billion by 2020. The Palaszczuk Government has committed to
maintaining these goals, and to continue working with industry leaders to develop a prosperous and
sustainable tourism industry.
Destination Success
Destination Success, the 20-year tourism plan of the Queensland Government for tourism, prioritises six
key themes that will grow the tourism industry; including ‘Build strong partnerships’, ‘Preserve our
nature and culture’, and ‘Offer iconic experiences’. Relevant strategic directions under these themes
include:
- ‘Work together and with governments to ensure effective planning, policies and investment for
the life of the 20-year plan’;
- ‘Maximise the tourism opportunities of heritage, arts, culture, nature and Indigenous tourism
experiences’;
- ‘Develop new and existing products to deliver experiences of quality and value that consistently
delight the customer’; and ‘Recognise and leverage icons and use product clustering to build
visitation.’

4. 4 | P a g e
QTIC Submission
To achieve these directions, the tourism industry requires a state planning system which facilitates the
development of innovative and sustainable tourism development opportunities, supported by a
development assessment process which is flexible and efficient.
Next Generation Tourism Planning
In 2013, QTIC worked closely with the previous Queensland Government to develop the publication titled
Next Generation Tourism Planning: A guideline for planners in Queensland. The purpose of the
publication was to inform planning practitioners of the role of tourism in place-making and enable
successful tourism planning outcomes in Queensland, by offering a framework to consider tourism
projects, from small-scale farmstays to international resort complexes and everything in-between. Next
Generation Tourism Planning should be an important reference document for planners in Queensland,
particularly in guiding strategic planning and in considering tourism development assessments.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. A clearer State Planning Policy framework for all users
QTIC supports the Queensland Government’s proposed reduction of State Planning Policy instruments,
improving the clarity of the framework for all users.
QTIC supports the Queensland Government’s objectives to improve the clarity of the state planning
policy framework for all users through the proposed Planning Bill 2015. The reduction in policy
instruments (from four to two, transitioning the State Planning Regulatory Provisions and the Queensland
Planning Provisions) will reduce confusion over the hierarchy in the state planning framework.
2. Improvements to the development assessment process
QTIC supports the Queensland Government’s proposed improvements to the development assessment
process, to provide greater flexibility, efficiency and to encourage pre-lodgement consultation between
applicants and planners.
In the 2013 Queensland Government publication titled Next Generation Tourism Planning: A guideline for
planners in Queensland, it was found that the planning process often impeded tourism development.
Section 1.6:
‘…research found that tourism projects are often entrepreneurial, rather than plan-led. In many
cases the approval process for development was said to be difficult. Common problems included
long assessment timeframes and inappropriate conditions.’ 5
Section 1.6 provided the following recommendations:
‘…the increased use of pre-lodgement discussions between operators and planners’, and ‘a ‘fast-
track’ team, or similar, to provide advice to the applicant and facilitate the application process’. 5
QTIC supports the proposed changes to the state planning policy’s development assessment process, in
particular the increased flexibility for steps undertaken within the application stage, the ability for the
5
Queensland Government, Next Generation Tourism Planning: a guideline for planners in Queensland, 2013.

5. 5 | P a g e
QTIC Submission
applicant to opt out of a request for more information (encouraging the use of pre-lodgement meetings
and for greater process efficiency), reduced timeframes throughout the process to remove any
unnecessary delays, and the ability for the applicant to stop-the-clock at any time (allowing greater
flexibility for the applicant during the assessment stage).
3. Increase awareness and understanding of tourism planning
QTIC encourages the Queensland Government to increase the awareness and understanding of tourism
planning needs, to satisfy the state planning policy for growing the tourism sector.
QTIC supports the Queensland Government’s commitment to growing the tourism sector in Queensland
by acknowledging tourism as a key economic growth sector in the State Planning Policy:
Planning for Economic Growth:
‘Encouraging growth in Queensland’s traditional strengths of resources, agriculture, construction
and tourism these sectors will provide benefits to the economy and to the people of Queensland.’6
Tourism planning not only offers significant economic development opportunities but also enhances the
amenity and liveability of our cities and regions. It can stimulate productive environments, offering long-
term economic, social and cultural capital returns. Tourism planning comes in all shapes and sizes and
there is an appropriate type of tourism for almost anywhere.
The purpose of Next Generation Tourism Planning: A guideline for planners in Queensland was to inform
planning practitioners of the role of tourism in place-making and enable successful tourism planning
outcomes in Queensland, by offering a framework to consider tourism development proposals. QTIC
recommends further distribution and education about the Next Generation Tourism Planning guide.
QTIC encourages the Queensland Government to work with industry and the QTIC in increasing the
awareness and understanding of tourism planning needs, to build the expertise to facilitate the tourism
growth goals outlined in the Queensland Plan, Destination Success and supported in state planning
policy, and to achieve the objective of making better planning decisions in Queensland.
FURTHER ENQUIRIES
We welcome the opportunity for further discussion regarding the points raised in this submission. For all
enquiries, please contact QTIC Policy Team on (07) 3236 1445 or email policy@qtic.com.au.
6
Queensland Government, State Planning Policy, July 2014.