Dear Premier: Postcards from a tourism industry on the edge
Queensland travel operators tell the Premier in their own words why she must end the politicking and start the planning while they still have an industry.
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Queensland tourism operators clinging on for their very survival have begged Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to open the state or watch the industry be wiped out.
In a series of open letters to the Queensland Premier published in The Sunday Mail today, tourism operators from across the state have told of sleepless nights, desperate measures and being “totally broken” as the coronavirus pandemic stretches ominously onwards towards the Christmas holidays.
Even operators in regions placed to withstand the pandemic better than most, such as those within driving distance of the massive Brisbane market, are warning of dire consequences if the border restrictions cutting Queensland off from the world are not eased soon.
Already some 40,000 tourism jobs have disappeared in Queensland since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with fears that another 15,000 will go by the end of the year, with the former economic powerhouse losing more than $20 billion in the past 18 months.
DEAR PREMIER...
Cairns Adventure Group is north Queensland’s leading adventure tourism operator consisting of six unique and diverse companies operating under one family-owned banner.
The past 18 months have been the most challenging period any business is likely to face. Covid has changed our whole world and the state’s tourism industry forever.
It’s abundantly clear that your government is totally disconnected from the economic crisis unfolding in Cairns, your Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchcliffe has not visited the regions for months, your Treasurer Cameron Dick has disproportionately appropriated funding to the “major“ tourism operators, most of which are foreign owned or publicly listed companies, and you yourself haven’t been in the region since May 20.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles visited Cairns last week to announce funding for Tafe to provide employment pathways out of the tourism industry – I quote: “We need to protect the jobs that are here now.” What an insult to our industry, worth $25 billion to Queensland’s gross state product.
The June lockdowns of NSW and Victoria have seen my business plummet to just 10 per cent turnover and my staff reduced from 70-plus to 35 people.
The past three months have been absolutely financially devastating. Worse than the initial lockdowns in 2020.
Businesses are left hanging on a knife’s edge with minimal funding while your government plays petty politics and finger-pointing with the federal Coalition. These games are costing people their livelihoods and I, for one, find it utterly disgusting that politics takes precedence over the Queensland people.
We need a road map to reopening our borders – when it’s safe to do so, we are ready to welcome visitors back to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.
But when will that be? At 70 per cent vaccination, 80 per cent, 90 per cent? Only you and the chief health officer can answer that.
How can I be expected to financially plan without an end point? You must provide us with a date, a vaccination target and the criteria to instigate the borders to reopen. It is totally unacceptable that NSW and Victoria fly overseas before they can fly into Queensland.
RODERIC REES
Director, Cairns Adventure Group
My husband Mark and I have operated Fraser Island (K’gari) Adventure Tours based in Noosa, Sunshine Coast since 1988.
We have withstood floods, recessions, airline collapses, the GFC, bushfires and many other crises – but nothing has been more damaging than Covid and border uncertainty.
We are operating at 15 per cent of pre-Covid times – down 85 per cent. Without international and interstate visitors, our business is totally broken. Queenslanders have their own 4WDs, so they don’t book our unique “nature-based” specialty experience.
Uncertainty kills our business and the livelihoods of our team.
We have gone from 20 experienced staff to just four permanents and three casuals. They might only work a day a week, but we pay them their normal pay because we can’t afford to lose them if and when borders reopen and visitors return to Queensland.
Money isn’t coming in the door, but it certainly is going out – in truckloads.
We cannot sustain the losses for much longer.
Our biggest concern is that we will not only lose the upcoming holiday season but that the damage could be terminal for businesses like ours and many other hardworking Sunshine Coast operators who’ve put their life savings into growing the business.
Please Premier – we need certainty over the borders, and we need it now.
ROBYN LUSCOMBE
Operator, Fraser Island Adventure Tours
First of all, from a tour operator’s point of view, we would like to thank you for your support in recent times. We have received some financial support and are aware some more is to come.
One thing we would like to ask, however, is for more clarity on when the borders will reopen. We are finding it difficult to make informed financial decisions and plans based on current updates.
Will the borders be open for Christmas holidays?
If not, will there be any form of JobKeeper to retain the few staff we have left? Will we have to go another school holiday period losing money we do not have and with little financial support?
These are constant nightly discussions in our household and what keep us up at night.
Right now we are injecting money into training new team members as we have lost so many, paying employees for hours just to keep them on board, and marketing on the pure “hope” the borders will be open, but the uncertainty is awful and may cripple us financially.
We’ve held it together for more than 20 months now but the tourism industry on the Gold Coast needs a break.
We are strong, resilient people who have been forced to be flexible without any idea of what is to come.
We are still standing but we need clarity and a Plan B right now.
KATE FORRESTER
Operator, Gold Coast Watersports
Firstly, thank you for doing your absolute best to keep Queenslanders
safe and healthy.
Over the last 18 months, many of us have explored our own backyard more than ever before, discovering places we hadn’t even heard of, with Queenslanders turning out to support the region and enjoy the incredible natural attractions and community spirit Bundaberg is famous for.
As the owner of a family-operated strawberry and passionfruit farm, I have felt first-hand the strain the border closures have had on the agricultural industry. The numerous lockdowns in the south have led to a reduced demand for quality produce in the hospitality sector and we have had great difficulty in sourcing labour.
As a resilient and generous region, we are fortunate that with the intense support from our locals and fellow Queenslanders, the vast majority of our tourism, hospitality, retail and other local businesses have been able to survive.
We have rallied together, we have remained positive, and we have waited patiently – but we are now asking, very politely, for you to open our borders.
Small businesses across all sectors depend on the visitor economy.
We are reliant on it in to keep our businesses afloat and food in our kids’ bellies. We urge you to follow suit with the other premiers, and work towards unrestricted travel across Australia together.
Let Queenslanders breathe a sigh of relief, as their loved ones return home, and we can once again roll out the welcome mat for our interstate visitors with arms wide open.
TINA McPHERSON
Operator, Tinaberries
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