Coronavirus Gold Coast: Business and city leaders welcome border reopening

Gold Coast civic leaders are over the moon about the reopening of the Queensland’s borders as tourism bosses vow to spend millions reviving the city's economy.

GOLD Coast civic leaders are over the moon about the reopening of the Queensland’s borders.

Excluding Victoria, the state’s borders will be reopened to travel from July 10 while other social distancing measures will be eased.

Tourism leaders will now roll out a multimillion-dollar campaign to bring visitors back to the state.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Speaking to media less than an hour after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made the announcement, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the Coast remained a “safe place to come”.

“The international students will come back, (there’s an) uplift in development,” he said, but added the loss of the Victorian market was a disappointment.

“That’s the downside of (this announcement), we can’t embrace Victorians right now.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. Picture: Tertius Pickard

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“But they’ll come back in bigger (numbers) after this is over, they’ll want to come and celebrate their freedom here on the Gold Coast.”

He added it was “sensible” to keep people from the hard-hit state out of Queensland.

“Can you imagine if we allowed people from Victoria to come?” he said.

“Abundant caution is working.

“Every step of the way I’ve backed the decisions made, based on scientific data, by our Chief Medical Officer.

“It hasn’t been easy for the Premier and myself because there’s been a lot of pressure out there to get everything going.

“And we feel for everyone’s livelihoods, you’d be crazy not to.

“But Victoria is proof that caution is the way to go.”

He said businesses across the Coast could now prepare for interstate travellers.

“(Borders reopening) means an increase in patronage,” he said.

“It’s as soon as we could do it without jeopardising people’s health.

“If I were a local business owner I’d be happy I can now plan for July 10.”

The Premier said the government had sent the Deputy Chief Health officer to Victoria and would provide more support.

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CEO of Destination Gold Coast, Annaliese Battista. Picture: Jerad Williams

Ms Palaszczuk said the other States and territories were all in a similar position to Queensland, and from July 10 those visitors could travel into Queensland after filling in a border declaration.

Destination Gold Coast chief executive Annaliese welcomed the announcement and said it would pay immediate dividends.

“We are delighted with the balanced approach to ensuring the Gold Coast economy will start to recover through tourism as well as make sure we remain a safe place to visit and that this reputation is preserved.

“Obviously this announcement means we can start the journey to recovery. This provides much-needed certainty.

Ms Battista said Destination Gold Coast would immediately “press the button” on a multi-million interstate tourism campaign aimed and jumps starting the market after July 10.

“We have a domestic campaign which we will press the button on to bring interstate visitors here.

“There is significant pent-up demand for the Gold Coast and we are locked, loaded and ready to go in promoting our brand again.”

Watching the announcement with his “heart in my mouth for the businesses”, Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce President Martin Hall hailed the news as “awesome.”

“I felt surprised with a mixture of reassurance that she stuck to the plan, it means we can make hay while the sun shines,” he said.

Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce President Martin Hall. Picture: Richard Gosling

“It’s great to see that common sense has finally prevailed in regards to restrictions on businesses, we’ve always said that businesses are the best people to govern themselves. This means smaller cafes and businesses can now get more people in.”

Mr Hall said reducing the need for table service would also help reduce labour costs for struggling operators.

He said the Chamber’s joint CCIQ Gold Coast Pulse Survey Report found three quarters (75 per cent) of the business owners and operators surveyed reported weaker turnover during the March quarter.

“More than one half of respondents experienced a fall in turnover of more than 50 per cent and many Gold Coast businesses were forced to close their doors,” said Mr Hall.

“The State Government did a magnificent job handling the health crisis but has not controlled the economic crisis nearly as well. It’s decision to announce a reopening of the borders shows it is starting to listen to business concerns.

“Managers can now start developing their plans with suppliers, employers and customers.”

Queensland Airports CEO Chris Mills said the Premier’s decision was a sensible outcome and the “right outcome”.

Queensland Airport Limited CEO Chris Mills in an empty Gold Coast Airport. Photo: Scott Powick Newscorp

“It’s been such a rollercoaster ride over the past few weeks it’s been hard to know what to expect, and no doubt Victoria has weighed heavily on the Premier’s mind,” he said.

“We’ve always thought that all the good work done by us and other states should not be wasted based on what’s happening in Victoria.

“We’re very hopeful that even with restrictions on Victoria we can get to 40 per cent of domestic business by August. But at this stage we don’t know what the future holds for international travel or a trans-Tasman bubble.”

At the moment the airport is operating seven flights a week, compared to 60 flights a day before coronavirus shutdowns.

Mr Mill said ramping up travel between NSW and the Gold Coast was a boon for the airport because prior to the crisis it was the fourth busiest route in Australia.

“Getting Sydney to the Gold Coast going again is massive. We would have loved to have Melbourne but safety is the priority.”

Mr Mills said he was already in talks with airlines who were already preparing to put on extra flights to the Gold Coast.

“Research shows there’s pent up demand for travel to Queensland and the Gold Coast, with the city being a very desirable location at this time of year,” he said.

“Everyone who would usually have been travelling overseas may now look to us and there’s a real opportunity here for the Gold Coast to tap into the opportunity that the opening of the borders presents.

“But I guess the key thing is that it’s recognising this isn’t the end of it, this just gets us to the starting line in terms of recovery.

“From a morale prospective it’s a really positive step and while it’s a long road ahead, we’re up to the fight and going to work really hard to get to where we need to be.”