Tourism

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The federal government's latest tourism recovery package seems set to ignite investor and owner occupier purchasing interest in coastal Queensland property in coming months.

Between May and July, the federal government will subsidise the price of nearly 800,000 airline tickets as part of a $1.2 billion tourism package aimed at getting more Australians to spend big on domestic holidays.

A 50 per cent discount via taxpayer-subsidised airfares will be offered for flights to and from 13 regions that typically rely heavily on international visitors.

The 13 destinations include the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Cairns, and the Whitsundays region.

"This package will take more tourists to our hotels and cafes, taking tours and exploring our backyard," Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested.

But the property industry have expectations the visitors will also spend up on property, and some will even sell up down south and stay in Queensland.

The destinations also include the Lasseter region which includes Uluru, Alice Springs, Launceston, Devonport, Burnie, Broome, Avalon, Merimbula and Kangaroo Island.

Last year during the height of the pandemic Ripehouse Advisory released its COVID-19 Australian Property Report warning property buyers and investors should avoid buying in locations highly dependent on travel and tourism. 

Ripehouse Advisory estimated locations heavily exposed to tourism and travel had quickly experienced an average reduction in value of 2.5 per cent, and some have seen more than 10 per cent.

<h2>Gold Coast Projects</h2>

[smartcode_project:default project_id=22057]

[smartcode_project:default project_id=27575]

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515]

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7840]

<h2>Sunshine Coast Projects</h2>

[smartcode_project:default project_id=13241]

[smartcode_project:default project_id=29119]

[smartcode_project:default project_id=22041] 
[smartcode_project:default project_id=29122]
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The 13 destinations include the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Cairns, and the Whitsundays region

jchancellor

Half price airline tickets to boost property investor interest in coastal Queensland locations

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GUEST OBSERVER
The Australian economy is going through a period of transition. The mining investment boom is coming to an end, the terms of trade has fallen sharply and the AUD has been trending lower.
The weaker local unit is largely the result of the decline in Australia’s terms of trade. Since mid-2014, the AUD has fallen some 25% against the USD and 16% on a TWI basis. Over the year to June-2015, the terms of trade is estimated to have declined by 15%.
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The decline in the AUD is a welcome development for sectors of the economy with a high export propensity or high import intensity. Tourism is one such sector. A lower AUD provides assistance to the Australian tourism industry in essentially two ways: (i) it encourages international holidaymakers to visit Australian because it reduces the relative cost of a trip; and (ii) it makes a domestic holiday more attractive to Australian residents because the relative cost of an overseas holiday rises.
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How important is tourism to the Australian economy?
Tourism has long been an integral part of the Australian economy. The industry accounted for 2.7% of GDP in 2013/14 ($43.4bn), down a touch from 2.8% of GDP in 2012/13. By way of comparison, the tourism sector is a little bit larger than the agriculture sector, as a share of GDP. It is Australia’s third largest export and the largest services export.
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More importantly for the Australian economic story, the tourism sector employs around half a million workers, which represents a significant 4.6% of total employment. Tourism’s share of total employment is greater than its share of GDP because it’s more labour intensive than other industries (as distinct from capital intensive industries like mining production). Tourism industry workers largely comprise those employed in the sectors of accommodation, cafes, hotels, transport, travel agencies, retail trade and education and training.
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In recent years, however, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Australia’s tourism sector. Since the GFC, the sector’s share of the Australian economy has declined a little (down from 3% of GDP in 2007/08). The small fall is largely the result of the slowdown in the global economy, which has a negative impact on the number of inbound visitors and also the elevated level of the AUD. There is little that policymakers can do on either of those fronts. But as key export commodity prices have fallen, which has been the key factor in the decline in the AUD, the tourism sector has benefited.
How does the level of the AUD impact on tourism in Australia?
In a nutshell, a lower AUD is positive for the tourism sector. It benefits both the domestic tourism sector and also the international tourism sector. The recent trends in the AUD and tourism flows confirm that the lower AUD is having a positive impact on the Australian tourism sector. Since mid-2014, the ratio of arrivals to departures has gradually lifted. Or put another way, growth in the number of arrivals has outpaced growth in the number of departures. Over the same period, the AUD has fallen some 25% against the USD and 16% on a TWI basis.
The monthly trade balance data paints a similar picture. Since early-2014, tourism related service credits have been larger than tourism related service debits. In other words, the monthly tourism trade balance has moved into surplus. In our view, this will be the new norm.
Our forecasts have the AUD drifting a little lower over the next 12 months (both compared to the USD and on also on a TWI basis). On that assumption, the tourism sector will receive further support from the level of the exchange rate, particularly given there is a lagged effect between changes in the level of the currency and holiday-related decisions. The lag represents the timing differential between booking a holiday and taking it. We put this differential at 3-6 months. So the tourism sector’s share of the Australian economy and its contribution to growth is set to lift over the next couple of years.
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Where will the tourists come from?
 The lower level of the AUD means that domestic tourism will receive a boost as more Australian residents holiday locally rather than overseas. Equally, the lower AUD will boost the number of international holidaymakers visiting Australia.
Tourists from Asia, and in particular tourists from China, are the major growth area for Australian tourism exports. In 2014/15, the number of short-term arrivals from China to Australia rose to 935k (compared with 770k in 2013/14). If current trends are maintained, 1 million Chinese residents will holiday in Australia in 2016. In our view, this is likely to happen. The number of holidaymakers from China was already rising steadily when the AUD was elevated. This was partly the result of rising Chinese household income which has generated a resultant lift in tourism- related consumption. Some softening around travel controls over Chinese residents also helped. The lower level of the AUD will simply serve to act as a tailwind on the growth in tourists from China.
The impact of the lower AUD will be most noticeable on the number of tourists arriving from the UK and USA. The UK and USA economies have recovered and their currencies have appreciated commensurately. The lower AUD (and stronger GBP and USD) will see tourists to Australia from both the UK and USA lift. This has already started to happen with the number of tourists from the UK and USA rising on the back of stronger currencies against the AUD.
The tourism investment pipeline
A pickup in the tourism sector has benefits for non-residential construction and other capital expenditure. The tourism investment pipeline was estimated to have grown by 8.7% in 2014 to $53.7bn1. The pipeline constitutes aviation investment, accommodation investment and arts, recreational and business services.
Which regions will benefit the most?
All States benefit from a lift in tourism, but the States which have the highest specialisation to tourism will benefit the most. These States are NSW and QLD. Both States have a tourism specialisation ratio greater than 12. The Barrier Reef has been a major drawcard for international tourists while Sydney Harbour is one of Australia’s iconic places. The tourism sectors in ACT (specialisation ratio close to 2), being the national capital, and NT (with Kakadu National Park and Ayres Rock) are also important to local economies.
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The national accounts spending data is telling. It shows that since the AUD started heading lower, real spending on hotels, restaurants and cafes has lifted considerably. The lift in QLD, in particular, is significant and illustrates the positive impact that a lower AUD has had on the tourism industry. We expect this trend to continue. Robust growth in the tourism industry will help to offset the downturn in mining investment and associated job losses in QLD.
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Gareth Aird is an economist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and can be contacted <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://au.linkedin.com/pub/gareth-aird/14/790/905" target="_blank">here.</a>
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Tourism dollar key to riding out mining slump: Gareth Aird

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GUEST OBSERVER
There is no better indicator of the success of a city than the numbers of people who want to visit, live and work there. But this success creates demand for space, which is increasingly hard to come by in a growing number of world cities. This is especially the case on constrained land and historic sites, where expansion potential is limited. 
<h2>Worldwide increases in tourism</h2>
According to the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, worldwide international tourist arrivals reached 1,138 million in 2014, a 4.7% increase over the previous year, and have already increased by 4% in the first half of 2015.
The Savills 12 Cities Report (which examines worldwide trends) found that nine of the 12 cities included in the report were featured in the top 20 worldwide for international overnight visitors. London topped this list with 18.8 million overnight visitors in 2014, and a huge 300,000 visitors every night.
Although cities in Australia tend to receive a smaller amount of international visitors in comparison to some of the world's top tourist destinations, international visitation is still increasing. According to Tourism Research Australia, Australia saw a 7% increase in international visitors in 2015, which has also led to a growth of 10% for international visitor spend.
This growing trend means that world cities need to consider how to accommodate an increasing number of international visitors. International business people, if they continue to invest in a city, will want to spend time there. The quality, availability and convenience of accommodation – owned or rented – is an important component of city investability and economic success.
<h2>The question then becomes how to accommodate all these visitors</h2>
Governments will need to look at ways to sustainably develop and increase the density of their cities, and extend their reach, or a combination of the two. This means construction and transport infrastructure are likely to remain high on the list of priorities for some time to come.
In addition, certain businesses such as Airbnb have emerged over the past five years to revolutionise how we perceive available space in a city. Instead of building new space, Airbnb connects travellers with pre-existing space (rooms, apartments or whole houses already built). 
New technology and the digital space has allowed this new accommodation platform to disrupt the traditional travel industry, and Airbnb has already hosted more than 50 million guests worldwide, with 1.5 million properties currently listed around the world. 
<h2>Lack of space leads to rising rents </h2>
The inability to keep pace with accommodation demand has created cost pressure, which is why rising rents are a common feature of world cities.
The average accommodation cost per person in the Savills Executive Unit (SEU)* and their household in the 12 cities featured in the Savills 12 Cities Report is now $74,945, compared to $68,538 in December 2008. So despite the recession of 2008-2010, when average live/ work accommodation costs fell by 5%, rents are rising faster than city GDP growth in most jurisdictions.
The biggest rise has been seen in San Francisco, but high live/work rental growth has also been seen in other cities since 2008; New York, Los Angeles, London and Sydney have all seen rents spike between 18% and 28% during this time.
To learn more about the trends across world cities, view the Savills 12 Cities Report <a href="https://pdf.euro.savills.co.uk/global-research/12-cities---h2-2015.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.
 
Tony Crabb is Savills Australia’s national head of research and can be contacted <a href="https://www.savills.com.au/blog/author/109174/Tony" target="_blank">here</a>. 
 
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How will the world’s top cities cope with the increase of visitors? Savills' Tony Crabb

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<div class="column">GUEST OBSERVER</div>
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<div class="column">The China tourist boom continues to pay dividends.</div>
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<div class="column">The number of tourists to Australia from China and Hong Kong combined is now heading towards 1.4 million in the past year – and the gap is widening on the visitors from New Zealand.</div>
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<div class="column">In fact 52,000 more tourists visited our shores from Greater China than compared with NZ over the past year. A remarkable change when you consider that even up to three months prior annual tourists from NZ exceeded Greater China by almost 7,000. And with China and Hong Kong tourist numbers continuing to grow at a 21 percent plus annual rate, there are more landmark results likely to be recorded over the next year. It is even more astonishing when you consider that just over four years ago Chinese tourist numbers were around half those of New Zealand.</div>
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 Clearly our number one tourist group is has shifted and the new winners from the China boom are tourist operators and retailers rather than mining companies that benefitted in the first stage of the China boom.</div>
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 Tourists from mainland China is fast closing in on 1.1 million in the past year, up 23 percent over the past year. While some may fret about the slowdown in the Chinese industrial sector, the more forward-thinking analysts are focussing on the boost to Australian retailers from increased spending by Chinese consumers and the growing number of Chinese tourists.</div>
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<div class="column">The rebalancing continues to be taking place across the economy. No doubt the weaker Aussie dollar is helping to alleviate some of the pressures for the weaker investment story. And from the Reserve Bank’s standpoint, policymakers will continue to monitor the transition, and debate if further stimulus is necessary to support growth.</div>
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 What do the figures show?</div>
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 Overseas arrivals &amp; departures</div>
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<div class="column">Tourist arrivals rose by 0.2 percent in May. And departures rose by 1.5 percent. Arrivals are up 11.7 percent on the year with departures up 4.5 percent.</div>
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<div class="column">In May, tourists from greater China (China and Hong Kong) totalled 120,700 (mainland China 100,800, Hong Kong, 19,900), ahead of New Zealand (109,900). Greater China passed NZ for the first time in September 2015.</div>
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 Over the past year a record 1,133,700 tourists came to Australia from China, up 22.7 per cent over the year. Tourists from China and Hong Kong rose to a record 1,366,500 over the past year, up 21 percent over the year. Tourists from New Zealand totalled 1,314,300 visitors over the past year, but were up just 3.9 percent.  Over the past year, net permanent and long-term arrivals to Australia totalled 263,920 – the lowest level in nine years (March 2007).
What is the importance of the economic data?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases data on overseas arrivals and departures is produced monthly and is an indicator of the health of the tourism sector. The figures are also useful in understanding spending trends and tracking migrant numbers – an indicator with widespread implications for employment, housing and spending.
What are the implications for interest rates and investors?</div>
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<div class="column">Looking forward, not only will the weaker Aussie dollar should drive further tourism inflows, but it should provide an additional degree of support to the domestic tourism sector. Over time, the cheaper currency should make it more attractive to travel within Australia rather than overseas. Tourism has potential to join housing as a key driver of the Australian economy over the coming year, especially if the Aussie dollar falls further.</div>
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<div class="column">In-bound migration is holding at the lowest levels in nine years, meaning that there is greater scope for unemployment to fall in the short-term before businesses have to start looking abroad for suitable staff. The Reserve Bank is likely to debate the merits of another rate cut at the August Board meeting.
 Savanth Sebastian is an economist for <a href="https://www.commsec.com.au/" target="_blank">CommSec</a>
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Migration at 9-year lows; Chinese tourism boom: Commsec's Savanth Sebastian

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/78338/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The ubiquitous cafes across Australian cities attract locals and tourists alike, but surely there's more to thriving neighbourhoods than a flat white.
Iconic architectural pieces may attract large numbers of tourists but are not the only things that live in the memories of visitors to Australian cities. Everyday experiences also endure. In fact, eating is one of the top tourist activities.
It’s also where the money is spent. According to Tourism Research Australia’s Tourism Satellite Account 2015-16 report, tourists spend the largest percentage of their money – about 21 cents in every dollar – on takeaways, restaurant meals and beverages.
It isn’t just international tourists searching for memorable cafe and dining experiences – leisure-seekers from nearby suburbs or towns are too. According to Food Industry Foresight’s Coffee &amp; Beverages In Australia annual tracking study, Australians drink about two coffees out per week. That equates to about 1.8 billion espresso-based coffees a year, costing A$7.3 billion.
So that cafes, restaurants and bars remain competitive, the architecture becomes part of the attraction. This has led to some ubiquitous design signifiers: white subway tiles, reclaimed timber, austere pendant lighting, white anodised SHS steel and exposed brick.
Additionally, cafe names often echo a civic rhetoric – see Common Ground, Public House, New School Canteen.
The replication of the cafe typology – each must have the right owner, the right coffee, and the right baristas, business name and interior designer – can be as tedious as the desire of city authorities to have a leisure landscape, a stadium, or an event to fill it.
Cities use these precincts and events as strategic tools to project an attractive image of themselves as they compete for tourist dollars, business investment, professional talent and the coveted high ranking in liveability indexes.
And Australia has many tourist leisurescapes under construction. There’s Darling Square, a A$3.4 billion neighbourhood near Sydney’s Darling Harbour; Perth’s Elizabeth Quay, a mixed-use development of office, entertainment and residential buildings around a 2.7-hectare artificial river inlet; and the Gold Coast’s expanded cultural precinct of 16.9 hectares, with Stage 1 to be delivered in time for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. And each comes with those ubiquitous cafes.
Leveraging the lure of the cafe
Property developers have recognised how to leverage the popularity of this “flat white tourism”. A nearby “cappuccino” strip can increase land values. It also helps with marketing apartment buildings: the promise of a cafe that anchors a new development is enticing for home buyers and investors.
Local councils also see cafes as desirable. To maintain street life, planning regulations often require active, public-facing street fronts, rather than blank walls, car parks, gardens or fences. The aim is to accommodate activity that encourages pedestrian interaction and casual surveillance.
Paired with changing consumer habits (such as online and mall shopping), the result is that many high streets are now dominated by the cafe, a sort of “high street lite”. The cafe appears to be a market-driven solution to achieve an active street front in Australian cities. This is flat white urbanism.
Consider the alternatives
Australians are not just consuming coffee. In fact, people are not just passively consuming cultural or leisure activities (such as going to bands or watching sport). Australians are making, doing and playing; active participation is on the rise around the country.
For example, the Australia Council study Arts in Daily Life: Australian Participation in the Arts highlighted that about one in three Australians is involved in creating visual art or craft. The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ General Social Survey, 2014 shows that 31% of Australians are also volunteering. This has put pressure on council services and raised questions about how councils can help enable community activity.
The availability of affordable and accessible space is a looming issue in major Australian cities. There is demand for more diverse uses at ground level – studios, live-work apartments, community rooms, kindergartens, ateliers, small-scale light industrial zones, education facilities.
But the desire among lessors for the maximum rental return means less profitable businesses or civic users can’t afford street-fronting leases.
A way to fund diverse activity
The concept of the developer contribution offers an opportunity to reimagine the ground plane of apartment buildings, to diversify away from look-alike cafes. The developer contribution is a percentage of a building budget that goes to community infrastructure (for the health, safety or wellbeing of the community).
At present, this money is generally channelled via council towards building libraries, multipurpose community centres, maternity health centres, sporting facilities or neighbourhood parks with play equipment. Cultural infrastructure seldom comes into the frame.
It is at the level of developer contribution that local councils can intervene. This could be through an ad-hoc process of negotiating more floors for the development in return for providing community space. Or it could be through rezoning, which is tied to developer contributions.
For example, developers could be granted a larger floor-area ratio through rezoning if they give a percentage of the building over to community use. This could include social housing.
A redefinition of what comprises community infrastructure could underpin this shift. This might extend to redefining public art contributions – developers are often required to provide a percentage of their project budget to public art. Would a subsidised artist studio be more valuable than a sculpture?
Urban policymakers have to be careful to maintain the uniqueness and distinctiveness of a place for both locals and tourists. Responding to the proliferation of cafes by creating incentives for, or regulating, other uses could be one way to diversify street life.
Then, cafes might not only give the appearance of a cultural scene, or of it being made somewhere nearby, or of it happening on the first floor. It is happening next door. This brings benefits to both the local and non-local coffee tourist.
Timothy Moore is PhD Candidate, Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/timothy-moore-292089" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Flat white urbanism: there must be better ways to foster a vibrant street life

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GUEST OBSERVER
Infrastructure in our cities – let’s call it the hardware – remains much the same as ever, but the software – the way we use it – is transforming rapidly. One piece of that software, Airbnb, is dramatically reshaping the world’s cities.
The digital platform allows citizens to find and rent short-term accommodation from other citizens. Airbnb has the potential to rupture the traditional spatial relationship between tourist and local, making our cities more vibrant and diverse places to live in and to visit.
The question is: what opportunities and dangers does the platform present? What are the implications of repurposing existing residential infrastructure for short-term accommodation? What happens when the global “sharing economy” meets a city’s suburbs?
<h2>Lessons from an early adopter</h2>
Melbourne was an early adopter of Airbnb. It is also one of the top 10 cities for global travellers on Airbnb. What insights can be gathered from its experience?
According to Airbnb, three-quarters of listings worldwide are outside major hotel districts. Airbnb has three types of property listings: entire homes, private rooms and shared rooms.
Entire homes make up over half the total number of Melbourne’s metropolitan listings. Data collected in January 2016 reveals that their distribution is relatively consistent with that of hotels and licensed accommodation, which exist in large concentrations in the CBD and inner city.
Many hosts who list entire homes lease or sublet when they go away. In Australia, tenants require permission from their landlord to sublet, so there is little risk for the landlord if they follow due process. But analysis by website Inside Airbnb indicates that about 75% of entire-house listings in Melbourne are available for over 90 days per year.
Hosts with multiple properties manage about a third of all the entire-house listings in Melbourne. These operators hold an average of three properties, but some have dozens. Through Airbnb, these brokers are turning existing housing infrastructure into informal, distributed hotels while saving on capital costs, overheads and wages.
Globally, the Airbnb phenomenon has been blamed for driving up rents, accelerating gentrification and displacing local residents by reducing available housing stock.
In Melbourne, the boom in high-density development in the CBD has resulted in an excess of homogeneous apartment dwellings. Bedrooms without natural light, as well as insufficient floor area, outdoor space and storage space, characterise many of these developments, rendering them effectively unlivable for long-term residents. But these properties are attractive to itinerant tenants seeking affordable inner city accommodation. 
Shared rooms in Melbourne constitute only about 2% of all listings, but they are almost exclusively confined to the CBD. Box Hill (14 kilometres east of Melbourne), and Maidstone/ Braybrook (eight kilometres west of Melbourne) are secondary outlying hotspots. The majority of CBD listings are around new apartment towers near Southern Cross Station (at the western end of the CBD) and RMIT University.
A number of already small two-bedroom apartments in the Neo200, Upper West Side and QV1 towers are operating as gendered dormitories. These often sleep eight, with four to a room. Overloading these apartments creates potential fire-safety and hygiene-compliance issues.
Short-term letting via sites like Airbnb allows investors to earn up to three times the amount they’d receive in rent (the average cost to rent an entire home is AU$189 per night). Travellers benefit from competitive accommodation rates, cooking facilities, convenient locations and access to private pools and gymnasiums intended for residents.
Airbnb acknowledges that professional hosts with multiple listings are exploiting the so-called sharing economy, but has not yet taken steps to regulate this. Governments would do well to implement the long-awaited and much-needed minimum design standards for apartments to curb the construction of developments in the city that fail to cater for residents or which are purpose-built for the Airbnb market (a few local examples are already emerging).
Beyond the obvious need to protect the amenity of citizens, protection of the liveliness and heterogeneity of the city is essential to maintain the kind of “authentic” experience that appeals to Airbnb users in the first place. Melbourne is beginning to follow the trajectory of international cities like London where the investor market, fuelled by capital gains tax exemptions, has pushed residents further and further out. Dispersing the concentration of entire-house and private-room rental is vital.
More promising is the dispersed pattern of private rooms in Melbourne. These represent around 45 percent of listings across the city. While private rooms are still concentrated in and around the CBD, diffuse listings across Melbourne’s middle-ring suburbs realise Airbnb’s ambition to enable access to the everyday spaces of cities.
This pattern makes sense given the mismatch between Australian house sizes, which remain the largest in the world, and changing household structures – most significantly, the decline of the nuclear family. An increase in housing diversity in the middle-ring suburbs is likely to facilitate more entire-house listings in these areas in the future.
We are also seeing evidence of Airbnb driving housing diversity. Annexed and granny-flat configurations are commonly listed in suburbs close to the Melbourne CBD like Brunswick and Caulfield. Loose-fit arrangements like these provide more flexibility to cater to both residents and visitors, and the by-product is slow but genuine “bottom-up” densification.
Government incentives for this kind of small-scale development would help to make this a viable (and, for many, welcome) alternative to densification through high-rise apartment development.
In 2015, Tourism Victoria entered into an agreement with Airbnb Melbourne to promote buzzing inner-city suburbs Fitzroy and St Kilda as “sharing economy” hotspots. But the cost of renting in these suburbs is already exorbitant. Fitzroy was named the second-most-expensive suburb in Melbourne for apartment rental in 2015.
Instead, policymakers could encourage disruption in the suburbs that would benefit both sides.
<h2>What can be done to capture local benefits?</h2>
Airbnb claims that tourists who use the platform “stay longer and spend more”. Through taxation and additional revenue from the sharing economy, governments could fund more extensive and efficient transport networks to service both locals and visitors. Extending transport infrastructure would support the intensification of distributed neighbourhoods and maximise intermingling between tourists and locals.
Bottom-up densification could also be a way forward for Perth. The distribution of Airbnb accommodation towards Perth’s coastal suburbs highlights potential in this space: here, tourism-specific and local infrastructure can converge. This is an exciting prospect for a state that positions itself as a unique travel destination.
Airbnb emerges from the same cultural tendency as the pop-up shop and interim-use place activation. Built environment professionals must recognise it as an urban issue and lead with a framework for targeted, productive disruption.
Airbnb can increase the density of people within existing building stock, while dispersing the positive effects of the tourist economy. This requires more imagination from planners and designers, who first and foremost must consider the interests of individual citizens, whether they are renters or home owners.
Can Airbnb be a part of the solution of increasing urban infill without compromising a minimum standard of living?
Jacqui Alexander is lecturer in Architecture, Monash University and author for The Conversation. She can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jacqui-alexander-196982" target="_blank">here</a>.
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How Airbnb is reshaping our cities

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GUEST OBSERVER
In March, China (including Hong Kong) passed New Zealand as Australia’s largest source of tourists. And that gap widened in April. Over the past year 1.35 million Chinese visited our shores. This is the new boom – the tourism boom – and again it is driven by China. 
Tourism Research Australia found that international visitors spent $36.6 billion in 2015 with China spending $8.3 billion or almost $8,000 per person. Spending was up by 18 per cent on a year earlier – the strongest growth in 14 years. And the latest data on tourist arrivals suggests that the spending by international visitors continues to lift, providing valuable momentum for the economy.
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 It has been a stellar week for the economy. Data has showed the economy growing at the fastest pace in 31⁄2 years; building approvals hit fresh record highs; car sales are at record highs; and tourist arrivals hit fresh record highs. The economy is firing on all cylinders. Clearly any suggestion that rate cuts are needed to lift a sagging economy is very much misplaced. The Reserve Bank cut rates in May – and still may cut rates again – on the premise that the economy can record even faster growth without sparking higher inflation.
What do the figures show?
Overseas arrivals &amp; departures
Tourist arrivals rose by 1.2 percent to record highs in April. Tourist departures fell 3.4 percent in April from record highs. Arrivals are up 11.6 percent on the year with departures up 2.2 percent.  
Tourists from greater China (China and Hong Kong) totalled 119,800 in April (mainland China 100,900, Hong Kong, 18,900), ahead of New Zealand (110,300).  
Tourist arrivals from mainland China and Hong Kong rose to a record 1,350,000 over the past year (up 21.6 per cent over the year) ahead of tourists from New Zealand (1,313,400 visitors over the past year).  
Over the past year, net permanent and long-term arrivals to Australia totalled 270,230 – the lowest level in nine years (May 2007).  
Over the year to April, 33,500 Aussies visited Pakistan, up 33.5 per cent on the 25,200 visitors in the year to April 2015. Also 329,000 Aussies visited Japan over the past year, up 26.6 per cent over the year.  
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New Car Sales
According to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries there were 96,672 new cars sold in May. Over the year to May a record 1,172,402 new cars were sold. Annual growth of 4.3 percent is the strongest in 31 months.  
In May alone, passenger car sales fell by 5.8 per cent on a year ago to 38,222; sports utility vehicles (SUV) sales rose 11.4 per cent to 36,230; light truck sales rose 10.6 per cent to 19,373 and heavy truck sales rose 5.9 per cent to 2,847.    
Sales across states in May 2016 on May 2015: NSW (+6.0 per cent); Victoria (+3.5 per cent), Queensland (+1.3 percent), South Australia (+9.6 percent), Western Australia (-5.0 percent), Tasmania (+4.3 percent), ACT (+8.9 percent) and Northern Territory (+3.1 percent).  
Car affordability  
New vehicle sales are rising because car affordability stands at record highs. The CommSec car affordability measure shows that someone on the average wage has to work 23.8 weeks to buy a new Ford Falcon auto sedan. That is around 2 weeks fewer than two years ago. And five years ago, the same worker would have had to work an extra seven weeks to buy the same car.
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Performance of Services
The Performance of Services index rose by 1.8 points to 51.5 in May. A reading above 50 suggests expansion of the services sector.  
The Australian Industry Group noted: “Of the five activity sub-indexes in the Australian PSI®, sales (51.7 points) and stocks (51.2 points) lifted into positive territory in May while new orders (55.3 points) continued its expansion. Deliveries (49.1 points) and employment (49.1 points) were both stable to slightly negative.”  
Four of the nine services sub sectors were stable or expanded in May. What is the importance of the economic data?  
The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases data on overseas arrivals and departures each month – an indicator of the health of the tourism sector. The figures are also useful in understanding spending trends and tracking migrant numbers – an indicator with widespread implications for employment, housing and spending.  
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries releases estimates of car sales on the third business day of the month. The figures highlight the strength of consumer spending as well as conditions facing auto &amp; components companies.  
The Australian Industry Group compile the Performance of Services Index (PMI) each month. The Australian PSI is the Australian equivalent of the US ISM services gauge. The PSI is one of the timeliest economic indicators released in Australia. The PSI is useful not just in showing how the services sector is performing but in providing some sense about where it is heading. The key ‘forward looking’ components are orders and employment.  
What are the implications for interest rates and investors?
In 2015 an estimated 120 million Chinese travelled overseas. Australia’s share was just over a million tourists. So there is scope for significant growth but it will require more transport and accommodation capacity being put in place.  
Another month, another record high for the car industry. New vehicle sales hit new highs in the year to May and it is clear that a key reason for the strength is the fact that cars have never been more affordable.  
The Reserve Bank policymakers will find it harder to cut rates in coming months. That doesn’t mean that it’s impossible, rather the Reserve Bank will need to be more active explaining the change.
Craig James is the chief economist at <a href="https://www.comsec.com.au/default.aspx" target="_blank">CommSec</a>.
 
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Chinese tourism boom, record car sales: CommSec's Craig James

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GUEST OBSERVER
Australians have been fascinated by “Big Things” since the 1960s, when statues such as Adelaide’s Big Scotsman and the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour were opened to great fanfare.
These super-sized structures can be found in other countries, too. The United States is known for its Big Donut, Canada has the world’s largest fiddle, but the attachment to Big Things here has an almost patriotic quality.
Many will recall childhood road trips punctuated by such highlights as a giant Merino sheep or a towering rocking horse, or an assortment of fruits – the Big Avocado, the Big Orange and the Big Mango. When the latter was reported “missing” in 2014, the news made national headlines, only to be later revealed as a publicity stunt.
But in a nation now littered with at least 200 Big Things, there is a sizeable problem. What to do with them as they age and wear out? Many Big Things were built cheaply from concrete and fibreglass – materials that inevitably fade and decay. 
Some structures — such as the Big Pineapple, the Big Macadamia Nut, the Big Orange and the Big Prawn — have, in recent times, either fallen into disrepair or struggled to bring in much income. Then there are others, such as Cairns’s Big Captain Cook, which invite controversy.
The Big Captain Cook stands in a vacant lot on the side of the Cook Highway; its legs show signs of concrete cancer and its paint job is flaky. The hotel that once accompanied Cook is long demolished, and the local community is divided over the appropriate fate of its landmark. 
Should he be repainted, or dismantled, or relocated to a place such as James Cook University where, in 2006, students petitioned for his adoption? (Since the university is named after Cook, they thought it would be a good match.) Earlier this year, he was draped with a large Sorry sign to coincide with Australia Day. Indigenous artist Munganbana Norman Miller has proposed the Cook statue be given a Big Boomerang to hold.
Then there is South Australia’s “Larry” the Lobster. Created in 1979, the 17-metre fibreglass crustacean has been on the market intermittently since the late 1980s and reportedly needed repairs. The state government offered A$10,000 to help in late 2015. 
The Lobster was recently the subject of a nationwide fundraising campaign #PinchAMate led by radio hosts Hamish and Andy. Earlier this month, Larry, who comes with a restaurant attached, failed to draw a bid at auction. But its owners said they were still hopeful of selling Larry, which recently had a A$50,000-plus makeover.
Yet while some Big Things, such as the Big Orange (Berri, South Australia) and the Big Macadamia Nut (Nambour, Queensland), sit abandoned, communities continue to build new monuments to attract tourists to remote corners of Australia. The Big Golden Gumboot in Tully, the Big Bogan in Nyngan and the Big Meat Ant in Augathella are examples of the new generation of local symbols. 
On the one hand, we can hardly begrudge a community that wishes to unite around a wonderfully kitschy piece of public art. On the other, we have to question why local authorities allow new structures to go ahead when these same local authorities may be asked to take on their upkeep in 30 years’ time.
One of Australia’s most beloved Big Things, the Big Pineapple in Nambour, was built in 1971. It was once a necessary pit-stop on the Queensland coastal tourist trail. In 1983, even Prince Charles and Princess Diana visited it. But in recent years the number of visitors to the Big Pineapple has fallen dramatically. It has been for sale several times since 1996, and even closed for a period during 2010-2011. 
In 2009, the Big Pineapple was added to the Queensland State Heritage Register, giving it some legal protection. This move also imposed an expectation that the owners would maintain the structure for future generations. Some saw this as a victory, but for others — including the owners at the time — the listing was a burden that limited opportunities for commercial success. 
In 2017, the Big Pineapple is in the news again. A proposal for a multi-million-dollar overhaul is before the local council, with the aim of converting it into an “extreme tourism” attraction with adventure tourism, music, a water park, camping, a brewery and winery. This is clearly another attempt to bring life (and income) back to the ageing icon.
The sheer volume of Australia’s Big Things makes it impossible to guarantee that all will survive. More local authorities will inevitably face emotive public debates, akin to the furore over the Ballina council’s threatened demolition of the Big Prawn in 2009. (In that instance, the crustacean was bought by Bunnings, which kept it as part of a redevelopment of the property it was attached to.) 
One man’s trash is another man’s Big Pineapple. These are undeniably public landmarks of socio-cultural significance, and some — like the Pineapple — warrant preservation. 
Still, heritage bodies and governments will need to make difficult, and probably unpopular, decisions that may likely send some of our Big Things to the scrap heap. At the time they were built, it was already clear that Big Things typically have an expiration date.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amy-clarke-248726" target="_blank">Amy Clarke</a> is lecturer in History specialising in built heritage and cultural/identity politics, University of the Sunshine Coast and author for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
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Australia’s ‘big’ problem – what to do with our ageing amusing super-sized statues?

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GUEST OBSERVER
While Melburnians sombrely reflect on the risks of intensive commercial development near airport runways, Sydneysiders are enthusiastically scoping the development spin-offs that will come with their new airportin the city’s west.
Critical uncertainties still cloud this prospect. Will Sydney Airport Group take up its extraordinary “first right of refusal” option? The enticing early prospect of securing a virtual monopoly on Sydney’s airspace is now clouded by the reality of huge upfront development costs before any planes land or take off for the first time in the mid-2020s. 
If Sydney Airport Group pulls out, what happens next? Will the opportunity be opened up to other development companies? Or will the government commit more public money to doing the job itself and then on-selling the airport to the private sector?
Will there be rail access from day one, as seems utterly critical to its early success? If so, which option will be preferred – a very fast train or an ambling suburban service? This is the subject of a major transport study with a further dilemma looming: who will build and pay for it?
What type of airport will it be? Current thinking is to have it quickly assume the scale of the current Gold Coast or Adelaide airports with 6-7 million passengers per year. 
But who will fly here? Will it be a hub airport for a major airline/s? Will it have direct international services? Will it specialise in freight services? 
A great many considerations affect the “business case” for the new airport. 
<h2>A bustling ‘third city’?</h2>
Even larger questions relate to co-ordinated land use development around the airport. This is recognised as important, with the New South Wales government delineating an extensive “priority growth area”. The Greater Sydney Commission chaired by Lucy Turnbull envisages a whole new western urban complex around the airport – the so-called “third city” after Eastern Sydney and Parramatta. 
The organising device for making sense of this so far is the “aerotropolis”. This is a model for orderly airport-centric large-scale metropolitan development. It’s exemplified by Dallas Fort Worth, Singapore and Hong Kong. The core is a bustling airport city at the epicentre of road and rail networks knitting together a bustling job-rich region. 
Through other lenses, this aviation-dependent urban form is variously a greenhouse horror story and noise machine. The concentration of critical infrastructure is seen as creating a possible security nightmare. There is now a well-organised global anti-aerotropolis network highlighting the environmental and ecological downsides of aviation mega-projects. 
The guileless boosterism attached to many schemes makes them a sitting duck for devastating critiques by the likes of British critic Will Self. He has taken apart their conventional first world premises as “slumbering on the redeye flight to apocalypse”. 
<h2>The naysayers and the true believers</h2>
All such heretical thoughts were scripted out of a recent industry summiton the Western Sydney Aerotropolis. The registration cost could have paid for a few days’ comparative fieldwork at Dubai Aviation City or Incheon/Songdo in South Korea.
Chairman David Borger, of the Western Sydney Business Chamber, smoothly chaired two days’ worth of proceedings that were generally dismissive of naysayers finding different and ineffectual ways of saying no – no airport, no curfew, no jobs. 
This was a room of largely true believers, starting with the federal infrastructure minister, Paul Fletcher, and NSW’s minister for Western Sydney, Stewart Ayers. All were upbeat spruikers for the cause.  
Yet despite the palpable goodwill – and there’s no doubt Sydney has the chance to pull off something world-leading – many questions again surfaced about how this area might best be planned and governed.  
<h2>Something for everyone</h2>
How massive a jobs generator will the airport be? How vulnerable is a sustainable economic strategy for Western Sydney based around an airport that will have to go head-to-head with the established and profitable Kingsford-Smith Airport? 
On a trip to Sydney in 2015, Professor John Kasarda, who has almost trademarked the “aerotropolis” label, made the disruptive suggestion that Kingsford-Smith might best be closed. The old airport could then be transformed into a lucrative urban renewal site to ensure the success of the new airport. 
Sub-regional governance is the major concern: how best to orchestrate infrastructure, timing, type and location of development within special stakeholder-friendly administrative arrangements. 
An “aerotropolis delivery authority” was mooted. But in what form isn’t clear. Local governments and a chafing-at-the-bit development sector respectively need sensibilities assuaged and aspirations equitably managed. 
Dealing with developers large and small, private and institutional, looms as a major challenge. The aerotropolis promotes land dreams because it offers something for everyone – business parks, retail centres, residential estates, innovation districts, medical complexes and university campuses. Advanced planning for a science park at Luddenham is the bellwether. 
<h2>A thoughtful approach</h2>
The aerotropolis notion works best as a reminder of the need for integrated regional planning. What is lacking is a human-scaled approach that values liveability alongside productivity. 
These issues surfaced at the summit and require more attention. How do we promote a healthful metropolis on the back of an airport? The rival paradigm of “airport urbanism” has some utility in stressing small-scale community gains. 
So, there are many questions about how this will pan out. Spatial planning needs to be advanced to develop a clearer vision for the airport. That now should be linked to an implementation model for the wider region that co-ordinates all the public and private players jockeying for a piece of the action. 
As Borger stressed at the summit’s end: so many issues keep coming back to the importance of getting the governance right. Constructing the airport alone will be a demanding engineering project. But the real challenge will be choreographing the mix of old and new city that will surround it.
Robert Freestone is professor of Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, UNSW and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/robert-freestone-168551" target="_blank">here</a>.
 
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Flying into uncertainty: Western Sydney’s ‘aerotropolis’ poses more questions than answers

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GUEST OBSERVER
Planning on listing your property on Airbnb? Here are a few things to consider before you do. 
1. Location of your property and potential demographic of your guests
Guests usually plan to stay close to the centre of activity and culture they would like to experience. For example if your property is near a stadium, there’s a high chance your guests may be attending sports events. Think about the biggest demographic of sports attendees and ask yourself the extent of behaviour you would tolerate in your property. 
2. De-risk your home against bad apples
You can request a security deposit prior to the guest’s arrival. Be wary of Instant Bookings, as this does not give you the opportunity to review the guest before they book in their stay. As a final precaution, have your guests sign a contract before they arrive. This can clearly lay out the check-in and check-out dates and times, rules of conduct, deposit refund or any other concerns you may have. While it may put off some guests, those who have nothing to hide should have no problems with signing it. 
3. Make sure your home is safe for occupation
When leasing out your property, it is your property manager's role to ensure the safety of the premises are kept. If you're putting up an Airbnb listing, this responsibility falls on you. You'll need to check that the smoke alarms are working and that heaters (if any) have been serviced in the last 2 years. Make sure that all doors and locks work smoothly in the event that evacuation is necessary. 
While Airbnb does not conduct any routine inspections on the safety of your property, it's a simple favour you are doing your guest that may save their life. 
4. Check your home insurance coverage for accidents or damage
You’ll need to fully insure your home against the risk of irresponsible guests causing major damage, as seeking damage compensation from Airbnb is difficult. Read the fine print of Airbnb’s Host Guarantee, and don’t assume it will protect you fully. It also does not cover a refusal to vacate.
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5. Long term Airbnb stays could turn your guest into a legal tenant
According to Consumer Affairs Victoria, if your Airbnb guest resides in your property for more than 90 days, they legally gain the rights as a tenant. This means that in the unlikely event that they refuse to vacate after that period, you will need to follow the same eviction procedure through VCAT as a landlord would, costing you significant time and money. 
6. Airbnb income is taxable
Airbnb provides a good source of cash flow for owner occupiers who are still paying off their mortgage. Bear in mind that your Airbnb income is classified as a taxable gain, as the ATO will have your information on hand already. Depending on the length of time you’ve resided at your property, and the length of time you’ve hosted part of your property on Airbnb, you may be liable to pay a portion of capital gains tax. 
7. Your ratings and reviews are your “open for inspections” 
To maximise the occupancy rate of your property, it’s essential that you maintain a high rating by providing your guests with a great experience, so that they are happy to leave a positive review. We would recommend to maintain at least 4.5 stars to remain competitive. Keep your property clean and restocked after each stay. Be honest in your description of your listing, as you’ll be rated for accuracy. 
8. Guests look for a trustworthy host, not just a room
Beautiful photographs, a friendly host profile photo and personal statement will build trust immediately. When there’s nothing hide, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Remember that, while you are risking your property, your guests risk themselves. They are looking for someone credible whom they are comfortable staying with. 
For more information, <a href="https://secretagent.com.au/" target="_blank">click here</a>.
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