The Hon. I. M. MACDONALD: My question without notice is to the Treasurer, Minister for State Development, and Vice-President of the Executive Council. Will the Treasurer provide details on the development of technical tourism in northern New South Wales?The Hon. M. R. EGAN: I appreciate this question from my colleague the Hon. I. M. Macdonald who, in addition to being Parliamentary Secretary to the Special Minister of State, and Assistant Treasurer, is also the secretary of Country Labor. I congratulate him on being elected secretary. On Monday and Tuesday of this week four seminars were held in northern New South Wales to demonstrate the benefits of opening the family farm to tourists.
The Hon. Dr B. P. V. Pezzutti: I wasn’t invited.
The Hon. M. R. EGAN: No, because the Hon. Dr B. P. V. Pezzutti was here. The seminars in Grafton, Tweed Heads, Casino and Ballina gave practical advice to some 74 farmers and small business people on how they can win some of the growing technical tourism market. Technical tourism, as most members are aware, involves inviting tourists onto farms and other local businesses to show them how they are operated. That type of tourism is ideally suited for agriculture, horticulture, permaculture, organic production, land care and manufacturing industries that add value to local products.
Technical tourism is a growing part of the tourism industry, and has huge potential in rural and regional areas where income from traditional farming methods is very often at the mercy of world markets. It also has advantages over other more conventional attractions in that there are little or no establishment costs. Technical tourism has two very distinct markets, including international tourists interested in technical and study tours and domestic tourists interested in farm stays and food trails.
Technical tourism is already well established in the Riverina where Japanese rice and beef growers spend five to 10 days travelling around the region to look at production techniques. The seminars were sponsored by the Northern Rivers Regional Development Board and funded through the Department of State and Regional Development. Through the seminars, the board hopes to identify businesses interested in technical tourism and work with them to win new investment and create new jobs in northern New South Wales.
