Coronavirus: NSW tourism operators look to own backyard

The operators of NSW’s tourism industry are looking to their own backyard for support throughout the winter holiday season.

Bells of Killcare staff members Nikki Rollett, Elyse Vella and Libby Rowbothen, front, are looking forward to welcoming guests soon. Picture: Britta Campion

The operators of NSW’s crumbling tourism industry are looking to their own backyard for support throughout the winter holiday season as would-be travellers from interstate face a prolonged ­lockout.

Queensland’s six-month long border closure will mean the $4bn that NSW residents spend holidaying in the country’s far north will instead pour into NSW’s tourism market, boosting bookings and revenue in its popular holiday spots. For Brian Barry, founder and owner of boutique hotel Bells of Killcare on the NSW central coast, having the biggest state population in Australia trapped in NSW will be an advantage coming out of the pandemic. 

“It’s a terrific situation for us to be able to catch up,” he said.

“The level of inquiry we’ve received has been extraordinary.

“We have been inundated with bookings for the upcoming long weekend, with vacancies filling up within 40 minutes.”

Mr Barry said a combination of new and repeat business was taking place, with people who normally holiday in far north Queensland left searching for somewhere else to stay.

“There's a lot of discovery occurring at the moment. People are looking for something that's in the budget they would have spent travelling elsewhere.”

The general manager of Byron Bay’s Raes on Wategos, Francesca Webster, said the added business could “save” them after a summer of bushfires, floods and COVID-19 induced travel bans. “If we are able to receive some reprieve over the winter, that would be an absolute dream,” she said.

Ms Webster said business had come to a standstill, revealing the impact of the pandemic saw occupancy during March and April plummet from 90 per cent to zero.

“We continued to stay open and accept expressions of interest but with the travel bans, all of our bookings were cancelled,” she said.

“But the interest that’s come in over the past 24 hours has been so strong, we are expecting to see a significant increase in our midweek leisure stays over winter.

“Until Queensland’s borders reopen, we will be receiving more visitors than normal.”

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced late on Tuesday that residents would be able to travel around the state from June 1.

However, Ms Berejiklian has said people must “remain vigilant’’. “The holiday you will be taking will be different from any holiday you have taken before,” she said. “It means you need to think ahead and plan ahead, and accept that nothing we did before the pandemic will be quite the same during the pandemic.”