Department of Tourism

Department of Tourism may refer to:

Department of Tourism (Australia)

The Department of Tourism was an Australian government department that existed between December 1991 and March 1996.

History

The Department of Tourism was introduced in December 1991 by the newly elected Keating Government, described by media at the time as a "new mini-department" with fewer than 40 staff. Prime Minister Paul Keating said at the time that giving the department Cabinet status (rather than it being a branch of the previous Department of the Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories) would befit the tourism industry's position as one of the fastest growing industries in Australia.

Economist Dr Leo Jago at Curtin University argued in 2013 that establishing the department was a symbolic gesture and that the department's main role was to influence other departments, including the Department of Transport and Communications in regards to aviation reform and the Treasury regarding funding for the Australian Tourist Commission.

Inbound tourism to Australia jumped dramatically during the lifetime of the department, from 2 million visitors in 1988 to 3 million visitors in 1994.

Department of Tourism (Philippines)

The Department of Tourism (Filipino: Kagawaran ng Turismo, DOT) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the regulation of the Philippine tourism industry and the promotion of the Philippines as a tourist destination.

History

Started as a private initiative to promote the Philippines as a major travel destination, the Philippine Tourist & Travel Association was organized in 1950. In 1956, the Board of Travel and Tourist Industry was created by Philippine Congress. As stipulated in the Integrated Reorganization Plan in 1972 sanctioned as a law under Presidential Decree No. 1, as amended, the Department of Trade and Tourism was established, reorganizing the then Department of Commerce and Industry. A Philippine Tourism Commission was created under the unified Trade and Tourism Department to oversee the growth of the tourism industry as a source of economic benefit for the country. Then in 1973, President Ferdinand Marcos created a new cabinet-level Department of Tourism (DOT) by splitting the Department of Trade and Tourism into two separate departments. Included in the new Department of Tourism, the agency Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) and the Philippine Convention Bureau (PCB) were created. The Department of Tourism was then renamed Ministry of Tourism as result of the shift in the form of government as enshrined in the amendments to the 1973 Constitution.