Covid Qld: Reef tourism industry on the edge amid lockdowns

Forget climate change, pandemic lockdowns are presenting an existential threat to tourism operators on the Great Barrier Reef.

Great Barrier Reef tourism operators are at crisis point, with a 90 per cent drop in business and no government assistance forcing many to close their doors.

Lockdowns in Melbourne, Sydney and previously in southeast Queensland have taken away the driver of the Reef’s major economy.

Many fear they won’t survive until borders reopen and even if they do, the inability to keep staff during this period means they might not be ready for when tourists can return.

A water-rafting operator in Cairns had 300 customers across his six businesses everyday in June, on Friday just gone he had just five.

Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree executive officer Tara Bennett

A tour operator in Port Douglas has had to close temporarily, just two months after buying a larger bus.

This is what they are all facing, Port Douglas Daintree Tourism CEO, Tara Bennett said it is “harder than it ever has been through Covid.”

“For August, six weeks ago we were looking at a month averaging about 90 per cent occupancy throughout the region, right now we’re sitting at about 15 per cent,” Ms Bennett said.

Operators and tourism bodies say they need immediate support from the state and federal government with a JobKeeper like grant to keep them afloat until the country opens.

“They don’t have the JobKeeper to support there teams, there is no money coming in but they’re still having to pay rent, bills and staff they’re hoping to keep on.”

“It’s a cash crisis and people are really bleeding income as well as so many having to process cancellations.”

Roderick Rees, CEO of Foaming Fury in Cairns, Far North Queensland. Picture: Sean Davey

Andrea Cameron, the operator of Kuranda Day tours in Port Douglas, said the town was empty.

“What do they want? For someone to jump off a bridge until they realise how dire this situation is,” she said.

“It is such a rollercoaster, mentally as well, one minute your business is doing well the next you’ve lost everything, it’s hard not to cry some days, we just don’t have any hope.

“This time we’ve been cut loose, this is far worse, we’re cut off from the rest of the world and Australia, to be locked out of every state, there will be blood on the streets, there will be no one left.”

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IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Tara Bennett – CEO Port Douglas Daintree Tourism: “It does take people by surprise how destinations like us are suffering as a result of what’s happening around us, the economy for is a visitor economy, and for us there is no economy.”

Bad Fishy Tours, Nikki Giumelli, Cairns: “I’ve been in business a long time, the GFC, bird flue, swine flu all those things, I never had to take drastic measures like this to keep afloat, I’ve never sat with the same level of anxiety, this is the biggest challenge I’ve faced as a business owner.”

Roderik Rees, Foaming Fury White Water Rafting Cairns: “I don’t think the state or the feds understand what’s happening here. There is nobody here, we are having crisis meetings with managers, it is diabolical mate, absolutely diabolical.”

Andrea Cameron, Kuranda Day Tours, Port Douglas: “This time we’ve been cut loose, this is far worse, we’re cut off from the rest of the world and Australia, to be locked out of every state, there will be blood on the streets, there will be no one left.”

Michael Nelson, Pinnacle Tourism Marketing: “We feel as though our industry has been thrown to the wolves, we get there needs to be a health response, we’re just not getting why our tourism industry is the sacrifice and why there just does not seem to be any appetite to support us through this when the reason we can’t open for business is being mandated by government.”