Coronavirus China travel ban a likely $3 million hit to Great Ocean Road tourism
Normally heaving with tourists over the summer months, the Great Ocean Road is deserted this summer as the deadly coronavirus outbreak hits Victoria’s economy.
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Victoria’s iconic Great Ocean Road is being deserted by international tourists as the coronavirus crisis puts a monthly $3 million hole in visitor spending.
There are so few foreign tourists at the world-famous Twelve Apostles, traffic controllers – used to direct tour buses – have been let off work early.
And a popular chocolate factory on the tourist route which had 300 international visitors a day has seen that number plunge to just 30 in recent days.
Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism chairman Wayne Kayler-Thomson said new China travel bans could put a stop to up to 10,000 tourists a month staying overnight on the Great Ocean Road and a staggering 30,000 day trippers to the Twelve Apostles.
“That’s the likely impact of stopping Chinese visitation and that translates to something like between $2 and $3 million per month out of the Great Ocean Road regional economy, with the highest impact felt in places like Apollo Bay which is effectively the lunch stop for day trips,” he said.
One accommodation provider had 20 bookings by small Chinese tour group operators cancelled, Mr Kayler-Thomson said.
Entry to Australia is now being denied for people who have left or passed through mainland China, to stem the spread of coronavirus.
When the Sunday Herald Sun toured the Great Ocean Road last week, many businesses reported a drop in international visitor numbers, with some saying they could be forced to cut staff shifts as a result.
The Chinese travel restrictions had come hot on the heels of bushfires in other parts of the State, which had discouraged many international and Australian tourists from travelling to regional – and particularly bushland – areas over summer, businesses said.
“So it’s a double whammy,” one business owner said.
At the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and Ice-creamery international tourist trade is dropping daily.
“Our sales are 30 to 40 per cent down each day and yesterday there was only one international tourist bus with 28 people on it,” managing director Leanne Neeland said on Thursday.
“Normally they are 60-seater buses and we get about six every morning going to the Apostles, so there has been quite an impact.
“This week has been a huge drop, just 31 international visitors on tour buses over two days in the middle of the week, where we would normally expect 300.”
Mr Kayler-Thomson said the Great Ocean Road region was the most visited in Victoria.
Of the average seven million visitors it received a year, 20 per cent were international and of that portion, 20 per cent were Chinese.
“So there’s a big impact, particularly because the majority of that visitation happens in the first quarter of the year, and we are right in the middle of our peak period,” he said.
Go West Tours managing director Terry Smit said it was mostly large Chinese-Australian tour bus companies – offering cheap, fast day visits, directly to the Apostles – affected by the ban, but smaller, more boutique Great Ocean Road bus tour services such as his were also starting to feel the pinch.
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However, the Surf Coast Shire’s Ransce Salan said while it was too early to assess the impact on the municipality – which included Torquay and Lorne – foreign day trippers on bus tours from Melbourne typically contributed little to the shire’s economy due to their fixed itinerary.
“Businesses that specialise in catering for international visitors may experience a greater level of impact than the rest of the tourism sector and we will continue to monitor the impacts,” he said.