Op-Ed: Airport will bring benefits

The Blue Mountains is a special and unique part of Australia - loved by locals and visitors alike. And its significance extends well beyond Australia - which is why the Greater Blue Mountains has been inscribed on the World Heritage List since November 2000.

The flow of tourists to the Blue Mountains brings many benefits - including economic benefits from the dollars tourists spend locally and from the jobs created in the tourism sector locally. These jobs are particularly important when today so many people who live in the Blue Mountains need to travel out of the region for work.

But perhaps the biggest benefit of tourism is that everybody who visits has a chance to understand just what a precious and globally significant environmental asset the Blue Mountains represents.

If more people get the opportunity to visit the Blue Mountains these benefits will grow. Already tourism is a major contributor to the Blue Mountains economy with visitors spending over $400 million in the region annually, and almost 12 per cent of the Blue Mountains workforce employed in tourism.

Local tourism operators tell me that there is a lot of untapped potential. Today many international tourists never make it to the Blue Mountains; and most people who visit are only in the Blue Mountains for a day.

The majority of visitors to the Blue Mountains come from Sydney rather than further afield, and only a quarter of visitors to the Blue Mountains stay overnight.

That is why Western Sydney Airport holds such promise - because it will make the Blue Mountains experience accessible to a significantly larger audience. Undertaken sensitively, tourism growth generated by the airport will provide significant economic, social and environmental opportunities for the region.

Once the airport opens in 2026, Katoomba will be about an hour's drive of an international airport. The opportunity to attract more international visitors to the Blue Mountains is obvious.

Local tourism operators are already considering how to take advantage of these opportunities. For example, Escarpment Group, which owns the Hydro Majestic, says it is already considering new business strategies to skill locals in anticipation of the airport opening.

Escarpment Group today employs more than 290 people and, in the BlueMountains, has employed and trained 100 local apprentices and trainees during the past eight years.

If it expands that will mean more jobs.

The recent upgrade of the Great Western Highway shows how better infrastructure not only makes life better for locals - it also makes it easier for visitors to get to the Blue Mountains. The same principle will hold true for Western Sydney Airport – but the benefit will be considerably greater.

Any increase in tourism to the Blue Mountains will of course, need to happen in a way that preserves the unique qualities that make the region so special and appealing in the first place. This is why the Turnbull Government is working closely with UNESCO World Heritage Centre to ensure that the environmental impacts of Western Sydney Airport are minimised and that the listing of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area is protected.

Recently the World Heritage Centre acknowledged the Australian Government’s approach, stating that they “wish to commend the Australian authorities for keeping the centre informed of the progress accomplished with the EIS and the approval process, in line with the Operational Guidelines, and thanks the [Australian Government] for doing its due diligence in this regard”.

We are planning the construction and operation of Western Sydney Airport in a way which shows proper recognition of - and which does not impact - the Greater Blue Mountains’ World Heritage Area listing. Western Sydney Airport represents a game changing opportunity for tourism in the Blue Mountains.

But as the airport is developed, it is vital that we recognise what makes the Blue Mountains so special, and that we protect the World Heritage Listing of the region.

This is a priority for the Turnbull Government – and we will continue to consult with the community as this important project progresses.