Tourism operators to thank bushfire relief supporters at G'DAY USA in Los Angeles
Australians are set to show their gratitude to bushfire recovery helpers and donations at a tourism event in Los Angeles, where they will also be asking the world to “come back” to help them recover and rebuild after bushfires.
Bushfire Support
Don't miss out on the headlines from Bushfire Support. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Musicians rally to contribute to bushfire relief efforts
- Aussie skills shortage to slow down fire recovery process
Exclusive: The world’s eyes are on Australia like never before and with donations streaming in struggling Australian tourism operators are saying thank you through a stunningly shot, emotive video that will be played at premier G’DAY USA trade and tourism event in Los Angeles on Sunday.
But while the gratitude is evident, it is also clear the locals are struggling as they ask the world to “come back” so they can start to recover and rebuild.
The video, which will also be played during the Australian Open this week, features tourism operators from the Blue Mountains to Kangaroo Island, thanking the RFS and the people who have donated.
There are shots of the devastation – as well as the vast amounts of land untouched by fire.
“Fifty per cent of Kangaroo Island looks like it did before the fires,” tour operator Craig Wickham said in the video.
The video comes as new data crunched for News Corp Australia by Tourism Research Australia reveals every dollar spent on tourism generates an additional 81 cents in other parts of the economy.
“We all shed a little tear as well when we saw the video,” Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison said.
“It was just about letting the operators tell their stories,” she said.
“We have a serious perception and misinformation problem and we do need to correct that – our initial research in our markets in the US for example shows 68 per cent of people think more than one-quarter of Australia is burnt.”
She said tourism contributes more than $1 billion a week, 1 in 13 jobs in Australia are tourism jobs and “when there is a downturn it has a significant effect on our economy.”
She pointed to a local laundromat on Kangaroo Island that received 60 to 70 per cent of its business from the Southern Ocean Lodge, which was destroyed in the fires.
MORE NEWS
Does your job suit your personality? Test yourself
Trump brands trial ‘corrupt’ upon US return
US Bachelorette reality star dead
NAB’s economist Alan Oster said money spent in tourism is worth far more than a donation.
“There is a multiplier in the sense that if you go there and visit you are buying everything there,” he said.
NAB yesterday offered its 30,000 employees an extra day’s leave if they take a long weekend in a bushfire affected area, hoping to generate an additional $3 million for local economies.
Jacqueline Smith, owner of Wheelers Restaurant in Merimbula NSW, welcomed the tourist push and said most of the local businesses were only generating about 10 per cent of what they would normally be doing.
“That goes the entire way along the chain – my employees are not having the hours they would expect – form the big suppliers to the small, the lady we buy flowers from for our desserts,” she said.
“But the last few days here have been absolutely magnificent, it is coming back to its sparkling best. The entire south coast has its doors open and is welcoming you back wholeheartedly.”
UNICEF IS GOING ‘BACK TO SCHOOL’ IN FIRE REGIONS
Exclusive: From earthquakes in Haiti to the refugee crisis in Syria to cyclones in the Pacific, the children’s charity UNICEF is used to helping children in third-world communities battle emergencies and crisis.
Now for the first time it is rolling out an emergency response in Australia, sending teams into fire affected regions to assist with back-to-school items and mental health support.
UNICEF Australia CEO, Tony Stuart, said the charity is collaborating with local partners to target an immediate relief package for children with urgently needed back-to-school items as well as a paediatric specialists including therapists and psychologists who will travel to 25 communities in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
“This is the first time UNICEF Australia has ever launched a domestic appeal it is usually tsunamis and earthquakes overseas but the scale of this is significant and UNICEF goes to where it is needed most,” he said, welcoming the $1.2 million donation from the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation which has made it possible.
“Recovery without support can sometimes mean there is no recovery.”
UNICEF’s Nicole Breeze, Director of Australian Programs, said sometimes children can fall between the cracks in a crisis and it is crucial someone is looking after their mental health.
“We know through UNICEF’s work around the world that if children do get the right support they can recover but without that support there is a real risk there is long terms effects on emotional development and behaviour,” she said.
“It is critical we target their needs and recognise that recovery is a long process.”
Bairnsdale Secondary College in Victoria is part of the relief program helping to provide uniforms, shoes and textbooks as needed and is currently acting as a base for the ADF.
MORE NEWS
Principal Trudie Nagle said the fires came within two kilometres of the town.
“We had one family who were under blankets in their dam and the fire went over … other families are planning on leaving the area. Across our school community eight families have lost everything and we had almost 200 families identified as being impacted,” she said.
“For the small townships in some ways it is a reality check about your priorities and the things that are important and it is an opportunity to see the goodwill in people. Sometimes they say weddings and funerals bring out the best in people and things like this do as well, we just need to keep our focus on that.”
Bairnsdale Secondary College school captain Hannah Borland, 17, who is also in the Country Fire Authority, said there was no one in the community that hasn’t been impacted.
“It has brought us together as a community and really rallied the community,” she said.
“Everyone is willing to help out and give each other a helping hand.”
Fellow student Letisha Bryant, 17, who lost her house, said it was going to be hard going back to school without her things, but welcomed UNICEF’s support.
“I am a bit nervous about coming back, I lost everything but everyone has been really helpful,” she said.
Originally published as Tourism operators to thank bushfire relief supporters at G'DAY USA in Los Angeles