Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree launches ‘adopt a worker’ strategy to blunt housing crisis

A Far North tourism mecca is so concerned about a crippling housing squeeze preventing staff from working in the town they have called on community spirit to help.

A FAR North tourism mecca is so concerned about a crippling housing squeeze preventing staff from working in the town they have called on community spirit to help.

Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree has launched an innovative and bold “adopt a worker” campaign which has had success in other coastal locations, such as Lorne on Victoria’s Surf Coast.

TPDD chief executive officer Tara Bennett said the dire shortage of available rentals in Port Douglas, and across much of the Far North, had forced them to get creative and attempt to offset hospitality workers from heading elsewhere.

Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree has launched a new initiative to get workers to Port Douglas despite a concerning housing shortage.

“The housing crisis in Douglas is at a critical level,” she said.

“It is preventing businesses from operating at full capacity because staff have nowhere to live.

“And we are really worried that the staff we are working so hard to attract to the destination may lead them to other regions, simply because they are not interested in couch surfing or living in a tent.”

Ms Bennett said Salsa Bar and Grill, PK’s Jungle Bar in Cape Tribulation, and Daintree Discovery Centre were just three examples of venues looking for staff but were being limited due to accommodation shortages.

Salsa owner Rhys Bawden said the predicament was hitting hard.

“We have staff members that have lived and worked in Port Douglas for over 15 years losing their homes to increased rent, making them unaffordable, or properties that are being taken out of the rental pool to become holiday homes,” he said.

The tourism body hopes the adopt a worker scheme would resonate with locals like it has for Port Douglas resident Sharon Timms.

“I had a spare room and don’t mind a chat, so rather than seeing the space go unused, I’m more than happy to house someone while here on their tropical adventure,” she said.

Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree chief executive officer Tara Bennett is getting creative to help entice staff to Port Douglas. Photo: Gizelle Ghidella.

Ms Bennett said the Douglas Shire’s plan mimicked the strategy in Lorne, which asked its community to open homes to baristas, kitchen hands and chefs, hotel workers, cleaning staff, and tour guides struggling to find accommodation while working in the region.

“We are calling on the benevolence of the Douglas Shire community to consider adopting a worker,” she said.

“If they have a spare room, why not.

“We need to tackle this at the grassroots level because the problem is so big, we need to get a little bit creative and all chip in.”

To register visit www.visitportdouglasdaintree.com/corporate/adopt-a-worker

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Originally published as Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree launches ‘adopt a worker’ strategy to blunt housing crisis