Heritage & Tourist--Challenging times

摘要

2008 has been a difficult year for the Australian and the global economies and prospects for the coming year continue to look grim. This economic downturn will undoubtedly impact on railway preservation groups, which had already experienced the twin challenges of attracting sufficient volunteers to maintain operations and the ever increasing demands of accreditation. A number of groups have reported reduced visitor numbers with the escalation of fuel prices by mid-year and tourist attractions that rely on large numbers of international visitors are expected to face difficulties in 2009. On the other hand, domestic tourist numbers are forecast to remain firm as families cut back on overseas travel.