The second component of our communication strategy is a written submission to one of the leading tourism bodies is NSW/Australia.

The decision to choose a tourism body rather than the government directly came as a result of research in which we felt that the submissions of RAPS (residents against polluting stacks) had very little impact on the decision-making processes of Parliament.

By targeting a peak tourism body, we feel they will have greater effect in placing pressure on the Government while at the same time raising media awareness on this issue.

Sydney is a nationally and internationally recognised tourism destination with the sites of Darling Harbour being one of the most recognised world wide. For Sydneysiders, the IMAX building is one of the predominant features of Darling Harbour, as well as the new Cockle Bay Wharf complex.

The proposed stack for the Cross-City tunnel is expected to stand at 40 metres tall. The stack will stand between major arterial roads, with the IMAX building and Cockle Bay Wharf complex. The stack will be taller than the IMAX building itself.

The tourism body that we have chosen to focus our submission towards is Tourism NSW. Tourism NSW is the NSW State Government's tourism marketing and policy agency.

The main goals of Tourism NSW are to provide strategic direction and leadership to the tourism industry to support the development of tourism in the state.

The website contains information about tourism trends, time series data and fact sheets about vital tourism statistics for NSW. Further to this there is a section that documents tourism forecasts for NSW. This section may be influenced by the construction of a unfiltered exhaust stack.

The details of our submission when written are as follows:….

Introduction – This will indicate who we are similar to that of the information provided in our 'About Us' section on this website.

Objective – The objective for our submission is to influence Tourism NSW to place increased pressure on the NSW State Government to look at using alternatives to an unfiltered exhaust stack at Darling Harbour, in relation to the detrimental effect it will have on the Tourism industry in that area.

History – The main purpose of this section is to give an insight into the road systems of NSW, highlighting levels of usage and their main functions.
Our submission, will detail the history of the tunnel projects and surrounding aspects, including suburb history as well as the history of the proposals, this applies to all three proposals. In relation to the cross city tunnel, the submission will deal with the tourism history of Darling Harbour, taking in an analysis of current tourism levels to be compared with the possible effects of the Darling Harbour stack in the consequences section of this submission.

Current Proposal – This will detail the proposed construction of the unfiltered exhaust stacks. It will indicate the plans for the tunnel including positioning, size, width, level of usage, operating hours, and costs, and must also be done for the unfiltered stacks. The plans for the stacks (similar aspects to the tunnel plan) also need to be assessed. This will be done for all three tunnel/stack proposals.
Of great importance in this section is an analysis of whether the road system upgrades are necessary. Our submission would most likely do that and justify the importance of the tunnels in relation to the economical needs of the region and from general community acceptance, however we would remain opposed to the construction of unfiltered exhaust stacks in favour of other alternatives.

Consequences – As a result of construction of an unfiltered exhaust stack at Darling Harbour we would see the following as major consequences:
- a substantial decrease in the level of tourists to Australia
- a decrease in the benefits associated with the post-Olympic boom
- a substantial downsizing of the Darling Harbour area, including the close of small business, tour group operators, and a down size of hotel operations. Thus leading to an increase in unemployment in Sydney and the creation of a run down precinct
- a substantial decrease in the level of tourists to New South Wales, with other Australian States becoming the major entry points, in effect handing the tourism crown to Victoria and Queensland
- An extreme increase in the level of pollution in Sydney resulting in a decrease of national tourism, this incorporates Australians that travel from Interstate to Sydney
- An extreme increase in the level of pollution in Sydney resulting in a decrease of local tourism, this incorporates people from the Greater Sydney area who travel to attractions such as IMAX
- The opportunity to provide areas other than Darling Harbour with tourism trade, resulting in the demise of Darling Harbour commerce area
- The aesthetic qualities of the area would be destroyed by the ugliness of the stack, as well as the sight of unfiltered exhaust hanging over Darling Harbour

In the submission each point would be explained in depth, containing current tourism figures for each of the Australian states, as well as the Sydney and Darling Harbour areas. The submission will then provide tourism forecasts while the stack is in operation.

The submission will also highlight the consequences associated with the M5East and Lane Cove Tunnel proposals.

Alternatives – The submission will provide a number of alternatives that can be introduced to increase or maintain the tourism industry in the Darling Harbour area, as well as that of Sydney and NSW. The major alternatives proposed would be the use of filtered exhaust systems similar to those of Japan and Norway or the re-introduction of a light rail system that services the Eastern suburbs. The re-introduction of a light rail system, would be run in conjunction with an upgrade of the current Public transport options.

Conclusion – This would provide a summation of the proposal providing opinions on the action Tourism NSW should take in the future to ensure that the tourism industry of Darling Harbour is maintained and then strengthened.