Parliament House is on the skids as a tourist destination, with half the number of tourists stopping in for a visit now than when it first opened in 1988.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Senate Estimates heard yesterday that not only are tourist numbers in free fall, but tour guide numbers have been cut and the Department of Parliamentary Services says its only concrete strategy to promote the building is to spend $16,000 on regional newsletter advertisements.
The Public Administration Committee was told yesterday that the number of visitors undertaking official tours of the building has dropped from 180,000 when it opened in 1988 to 73,000 last year. In 2008-09, 101,000 visitors took part in tours.
The number of tours being conducted has subsequently dropped from 4527 in 2008-09, to 2331 in 2009-10, to 1911 in 2010-11.
Under questioning from Labor powerbroker John Faulkner, the department admitted it had cut tour guide staff, axing two positions overall, as a result of changes to the roster and losing seven staff through voluntary redundancies.
The committee heard that most of the tours now being run are at less than half capacity.
ACT Liberal senator Gary Humphries said it was not acceptable for Canberra's biggest tourist drawcard to be allowed to slide in such dramatic fashion, as Parliament House was a significant economic driver for the ACT.
The committee heard the acting secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, Russell Grove, was unsure as to the reasons behind the dramatic reduction in numbers over time.
''I can't add any more than probably familiarity breeds contempt - it's not as special perhaps as it was in 1988,'' he said.
Senator Humphries has called on the department to reassess its relationship with the other national attractions drawing tourists to Canberra and to be more proactive in its approach.
The issue will no doubt be considered by incoming Department of Parliamentary Services secretary Carol Mills, a former director-general of Communities NSW and the Department of Arts, Sports and Recreation. She will replace retiring secretary Alan Thompson next week.
