Tourism Research Australia, a government research body, has released its first State of the Industry Report, and provides a damning assessment of tourism in Australia.

Low employee wages, poor investment, and domestic tourism products that are decreasingly desired are just some of the claims they are making.

“For Australia’s largest market, domestic travel by Australians, it is also clear that the Australian tourism experience is no longer as compelling as it once was. Nor is domestic tourism competing as effectively as it could against other forms of consumption expenditure,” the report said.

The report went on to recommend that tourism products providers look to the changing preferences of customers to deliver more competitive offerings.

“Investment in new and renewed tourism product catering for the changes in consumer preferences and the ageing of many populations can create new opportunities and further leverage Australia’s competitive strengths.”

In an issue close to the hearts of many tourism employees in Port Douglas, the report said the industry was "characterised by low wages."

“As unemployment has gradually decreased over this decade, low returns make it difficult for the tourism industry to attract and retain well-trained staff,” it said.

A tourism employee in Port Douglas who did not want to be named said that if employees were planning for their future, they had little option other than to work two jobs or plan to move on from the town.

"There's the often used line that we're here for the lifestyle. That's true to some degree, but if I wanted to settle in Port Douglas there's no way I could even save a deposit for a place on my wage.

"Being a tourist town seems to make the cost of living higher too in terms of food bills, petrol and rent. That's why the only chance of saving any cash is to try and find a second job."