Poor returns from Rally Australia or just sour grapes???

[Livewireshock]

From the West Australian newspaper

Big events earn less than State trumpeted
23rd May 2007, 5:00 WST

The State Government expects to make only $147,000 next year from events tourism after dropping Rally Australia and replacing it with the Red Bull Air Race, according to its Budget papers.

While former tourism minister Mark McGowan told Parliament in 2005 “the absolute minimum return is $5 for every dollar invested”, the Government now has a more modest target of $2.90 for every $1 put into tourism events.

An examination of Budget papers yesterday revealed the Government appeared to revise down its estimate of the value of media coverage from events such as Rally Australia and the Red Bull Air Race from $4.88 per dollar to $2.78.

It allocated $21.4 million to events this financial year but that will slip to $13.28 million in 2007-08.

Tourism Minister Sheila McHale told an estimates committee hearing yesterday that the discrepancy came from the Red Bull race and Rally Australia both being held in 2006-07.

“There is a compensating reduction of both expenditure and revenue related to Rally Australia. There is a reduction as a result of supplementary funding in relation to the Red Bull Air Race,” Ms McHale said.

A spokesman said later the fall in revenue to $147,000 from $4.5 million only reflected the loss of Rally Australia and did not deal with income from all tourism events.

Ms McHale said Rally Australia failed to generate as much media coverage promoting WA as the air race, which actually showed Perth.

“There is no TV footage of Perth, Western Australia, as a result of Rally Australia,” she said. “You see the race but you don’t see images of Western Australia.”

Shadow tourism minister Katie Hodson-Thomas said WA was falling off the pace with events tourism. “They’re obviously looking at some events but not big major events,” she said. “We don’t seem to be looking for new and innovative things.” She said WA should be trying to attract a round of the V8 supercars by 2010.

ROBERT TAYLOR
STATE POLITICAL EDITOR

The West Australian government is now failing to meet their own demands. They originally stopped the Rally Oz because it was not meeting the $5 per dollar return from their investment. Now they can not even match that with their new showcase event, the Red Bull Air Race. Their so called 'better' accounting to judge an events worthiness is proving to be a disaster.

While the rally may not be telecast in front of tourist attractions, sticking to the forests mainly. I do remember seeing shots of Perth in the coverage. The Red Bull Air Race was always going to have more coverage of the city itself. It was held out over the river next to Langley Park where the service park & Super Specials were once held.

The key factor that has occurred is that the air race had a great big crowd, but it was nearly all locals. No great tourist mass came just to see it. Plus it was a free event to spectate, so families came with a picnic lunch & watched, then went back home for dinner. There was not a great deal of spending generated from the event compared to Rally Australia.

It was plain to see but it does look like the government has cut it's nose off despites it's face. They have really managed to shoot themselves in the foot. Rally Australia may not have been the best, but it was a hell of alot better than what they replaced it with.

There are alot of sour grapes here & I hope that Queensland can prove what a bonus hosting Rally Australia can be.

[ST205GT4]

I saw that article the other day. Real mud in their face now eh? What a complete disaster for Western Australia their decision has turned out to be.

At least I now have an excuse to spend some of my holidays over the other side of country and Queensland isn't a bad old spot

And what a crock of ****e that Rally Oz didn't show shots of Perth. Sure it didn't have the skyline in every shot, but then all you get to see in the Red Bull Air Race IS the skyline. Is that the whole of Perth? What is there to see IN Perth itself anyway? Not a lot and I live here!

[Livewireshock]

I like how the system they used to justify axing Rally Australia has shown that no other event in WA is capable of giving a return. Creative accounting that was meant to save them a dollar or two has now cost them millions.

I can not complain too much, Rally Australia has moved 6,000km to be an 90 minutes drive up the road. Pending on where some of the stages will be held, even closer for the northern NSW.

[Daniel]

Labor government I didn't vote for them!

Couldn't orgranise a youknowhat in a brewery!

[AndyRAC]

No offence, but obviously the Red Bull Air Race is a much bigger event than a WRC event, here in UK I've seen adverts for the Air race on National TV, but nothing for Rally GB. Strange decision though, the old Langley Park superspecial, that's in Perth isn't it? Politicians eh? Who'd have them....?

[Daniel]

The red bull air race has no real history and as you've seen there is no real draw that comes with it. When Rally Australia was on Perth was full of Finns, Frenchies and Brits following the rally and spending their hard earned money.....

[Livewireshock]

The Red Bull Air Race has got only a small fan base. There are not hundreds, let alone thousands chatting on web forums about what pilot has done or not. It is a drawcard for an amazing display of skill & effort but to draw in large numbers of tourists who travel just to see it.

Plus the air race was also a single free event on one day in one spot. Good for an afternoons outing. Take something & cook on the BBQ in the park while drinking out of your own stocks too as you sit in the same spot for the day.

Rally Australia has alot bigger drawcard. Fans, just like us, follow every tiny detail that occurs in the season. We all have a wishlist of what rallies we would like to see around the globe & some of us do travel constantly fulfilling that dream. When we arrive, we are there for shakedown & three days of competition. Constantly travelling around the countryside for each leg, spending money as you go over a wide area. Plus it is easy to quantify the interest by the numbers moving through the airport, ticket sales, rally tours & the like.

Queensland knows this fact well. It will even stretch across the border into New South Wales. The effect will stretch from Byron Bay to the Sunshine Coast. Not just the HQ area in between Brisbane & the Gold Coast.

Perth is a long way from the majority of Australia's population. To get an understanding, imagine Perth to be like Lisbon in Portugal & that Spain, France & Italy were all an empty desert, it is along way to travel from Greece. It takes a big effort for tourists to travel from the east coast to the west & vice versa. It is cheaper by nearly half to fly to New Zealand. Which alot of us rally fans will do for Rally NZ. Perth needs the big drawcard to encourage tourism in the west, the Air Race is not that.

[GigiGalliNo1]

what a load of $hit heads these guys are for getting rid of rally aus in perth... all i have to say. I was in NZ during the stupid air red bull blaaa for the WRC.. (!)

[JAM]

I saw a lot of things wrote here, and some blames about Red Bull Air race.

I think that you shouldn't be critic about the ones who work well as red Bull does, you should be critic about the ones who work really bad like FIA (regulations) and ISC (promotion). The problem is not on the way as red Bull promotes his event, who as no history but can possibly reach the same level of ROI as a WRC event, the problem is on the other side, the side of the ones who don't promote.

[Daniel]

The problem isn't with the FIA or ISC or Red Bull Air Race. It's purely an issue with the West Australian government.

I've lived in WA for 22 years of my life and whenever Labor have been in government they've made moronic decisions and this was one of them.