Cairns tourism: FNQ hospitality and TTNQ call for unified help
Leading FNQ tourism advocates are calling on all governments to create recovery packages for all sectors of the tourism industry after JobKeeper ends in March in a bid to keep the industry afloat.
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LEADING FNQ hospitality and tourism advocates are calling on all governments to create recovery packages for all sectors of the tourism industry after JobKeeper ends in March in a bid to keep the industry afloat.
It comes as federal Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister Dan Tehan touches down in Cairns to talk with tourism operators and advocacy groups on Monday about support for Cairns post-JobKeeper.
Australian Culinary Federation FNQ president Brian Down said JobKeeper should be extended or specific packages for different sectors of the tourism industry created.
“The hospitality industry would be in dire straits if not,” Mr Down said.
“While lots of hotels and restaurants are doing well because of local support, some closed and that’s a shame.
“All government levels need to help small businesses and not just the large ones.”
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Mr Tehan’s visit comes after the Morrison government provided $2.2m via a grants program to some of the region’s large tourism operations.
Mr Tehan also cited the government’s $8m to the construction of the Wangetti Trail, $5m advertising blitz to encourage domestic holidays and $1bn COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Fund.
“Our government is working with the states and territories to adopt a consistent approach to border closures and hot spots that will give certainty to tourist operators and Australians planning their next holiday,” he said.
‘Very big hit’: appeal for tailored help
TWO Cairns restaurant operators are pinning their hopes for Mr Tehan to provide more hospitality-specific recovery packages to help the sector as he meets tourism operators on Monday.
With JobKeeper set to finish on March 28, Waterbar & Grill Steakhouse general manager Mazhar Ahmed said he believed “many businesses are going to have a very big hit if JobKeeper was lost”.
“We all knew it was going to be only a temporary cushion for us, but it’s working,” Mr Ahmed said.
“We’ve been quite blessed with a very strong local clientele. But many other hospitality businesses in the region haven’t been as fortunate.”
He urged government to consider helping with food and beverage supply costs, saying that while they have not passed the rise in costs on to customers, it was an example of a specific area where the sector needed help.
The venue has stopped operating during lunch between Monday and Thursday since June last year to combat the losses.
Similarly, La Fettuccina Restaurant’s head chef Martin Kearney said while local support has been great, they had to cut back from seven to five days.
“The hospitality and other sectors in the tourism industry deserve packages that assess eligibility on a case-by-case basis,” Mr Kearney said.
Tropical Tourism North Queensland CEO Mark Olsen said the tourism industry needed a “unified approach across all levels of government to underpin our recovery” as it faces a $2.2bn loss in visitor expenditure by June.
“Visitor expenditure has halved in the last 12 months and our toughest quarter is ahead,” Mr Olsen said.
“Businesses will need continued wage assistance and the flexibility to keep employees connected with the business to drive our domestic recovery over the next six months as domestic tourism peaks.”
Joining Mr Tehan on Monday is Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch, who said Cairns and Port Douglas had a confidence problem, rather than a tourism problem, due to snap border closures.
Originally published as Cairns tourism: FNQ hospitality and TTNQ call for unified help
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