South coast tourism industry hit hard after border closure

Parts of the coast have now seen a drop of as much as 94 per cent in accommodation rates and empty main streets after Victorians made a mad dash across the border.

The main street of Merimbula was empty on January 2 after Victorians headed home. Picture: Facebook/Dodd and Dwyer Merimbula Amcal Pharmacy

With thousands of Victorian tourists forced to head home or face hotel quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, south coast towns must yet again face another hit to the economy.

Following the mass evacuation of tourists during the Black Summer bushfires 12 months ago and pandemic restrictions, businesses were looking forward to a “normal” summer of trade.

Sapphire Coast Destination marketing managing director Anthony Osborne said while he hasn’t “crunched the numbers” some accommodation is down as much as 94 per cent since New Year’s Eve during what was expected to be one of the busiest seasons on record.

“We are just so heavily reliant on Victorians, and many caravan parks are down 80 per cent. That’s really significant,” he said.

“There was a pretty sombre mood out there, and we don’t even know what will happen next week.”

Mr Osborne said $150 million in tourist revenue was lost due to the bushfires, and while he expects the border closure will not reach those heights, Victorians make up 60 per cent of the summer market.

Thousands of Victorian tourists were forced to leave the south coast on New Year’s Eve. Picture: Angi High

“That just makes it all the more disappointing. I know some in the community don’t want tourists, but they keep the businesses open and places like Merimbula have been savaged,” he said.

Merimbula Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Nigel Ayling said within an hour of the border closure announcement on New Year’s Eve almost all the town’s tourists were gone.

He said already suffering accommodation providers have lost more than half of their customers in their peak period.

“Places were overflowing with people, and at around 3pm you could see Victorians checking their phones. It was cleared out in an hour,” he said.

“We are by far the worst affected place in Australia. People need some sort of hope, but for places like Tathra, who had bushfires in 2018, this is the third consecutive summer of tourist loss.

“The closer to the border the worse it gets and I think people don’t understand that.

Sapphire Coast Destination marketing manager Anthony Osborne said some accommodation has seen a 94 per cent slump since the border closure.

“This end of the coast is more heavily impacted because of our reliance on Victorian tourists.”

Mr Ayling said misinformation surrounding visiting border bubble residents has impacted the region, with most returning home for no reason.

“There would definitely be people who left who didn’t need to leave,” he said.

“Some may be able to return, and we can still promote the region to people in the border bubble but the bulk of the damage is done.

“Christmas was good but we’ve had another mass exodus.”

Bega Valley Mayor Russel Fitzpatrick clarified that of January 2, residents who live in a border community, and have not left the border area in the last 14 days, can travel within the bubble without a permit.

Bega Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said the businesses involved have done everything possible to keep people safe. Picture: Facebook

Mr Fitzpatrick said staff at the Great Southern Inn and Twofold Motor Inn at Eden and the Beachside Cafe at Bermagui, where two Victorians who had tested positive for coronavirus were confirmed to have visited, have “been outstanding in dealing with the Public Health Unit and did everything possible to keep our community safe through circumstances outside their control”.

Further north, The Coffee Club and Myer at Stockland Shellharbour were also named COVID-19 hotspots by NSW Health after cases visited the venues late last month.

It came after a woman aged in her 50s and a household contact, a woman aged in her 20s, were diagnosed on December 29.

Batemans Bay Chamber of Commerce president Mathew Hatcher said the region has had a 10 to 15 per cent hit, with the majority of visitors coming from the ACT and Canberra.

“We are lucky we have around a quarter of our visitors from Canberra and another quarter from Sydney,” he said.

“We have lost some tourists because we do have vacancies now when we were fully booked.”

Victorian tourists had just hours to leave NSW during the bushfire-ravaged south coast’s peak season. Picture: Angi High

Mr Ayling said while the impact is not as severe as last summer, businesses only had two months of “normal” trade last year and he worries about the potential consequences.

“Shops are open and people are around, so we’re not closed for business completely, but that doesn’t take away from how bad it is,” he said.

“You couldn’t write a worse script.

“The ongoing cost to the economy is huge, with more people going on welfare. We’ll be clearing this mess up for years.

“We just have to suck it up and get on with things.”