Northern Territory facing $16 million coronavirus tourism industry hit

THE Government’s attempts to stop the spread of coronavirus by banning foreigners coming here from China is expected to cost the NT nearly $16 million in lost tourism revenue to the year ending in March

Uluru is still a popular spot for foreign and domestic tourists. Picture: Tourism NT

THE Federal Government’s attempts to stop the spread of coronavirus by banning foreigners coming into Australia from China is expected to cost the NT nearly $16 million in lost tourism revenue to the year ending in March.

Tourism, Sport and Culture Department deputy CEO Andrew Hopper told the NT News there would be an estimated 20 to 35 per cent decline in Chinese visitation to the NT for the year ending March 2020.

“This equates to between 5000 and 9000 fewer Chinese visitors, and a loss of between $9.4 million and $15.9 million in visitor spend in the Territory for the year ending March 2020,” he said.

“Tourism NT fast tracked its latest marketing campaign featuring the new brand Different in Every Sense and promoting the message to Holiday Here This Year, which rolled out in eastern state markets since late January 2020 in response to the bushfires.”

“Work is underway to continue to attract visitors to the NT as the coronavirus impacts tourism nationally and internationally.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced over the weekend that foreign travellers who have recently left or passed through China would be denied entry to Australia in an attempt to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Tourism Central Australia CEO Stephen Schwer said he strongly encouraged Australians to explore the beauty of their own country and support local tourism rather than going overseas this year.

NT NEWS special half price subscription deal: Just $3.50 a week

“The best way to help is to visit regional Australia. We are encouraging Australians to spend their money on holidays here to keep the economy ticking over,” he said.

“The most comparable incident to this was the SARS epidemic. It took a couple of years for Asian international visitation to Australia to recover.”

“We are also working with Tourism Australia to let people know that many areas are not impacted by bushfires and people overseas need to understand they can still come to Australia.”