Recently reopened Tahune Airwalk closed due to coronavirus

The owner of the Tahune Airwalk says he is still the “supreme optimist”, despite being left with no choice but to close the major tourist attraction and stand down staff just three weeks after reopening.

A TOP outdoor tourist experience on the edge of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in the scenic southwest has been delivered another devastating blow just three weeks after rising from the ashes.

The Tahune Airwalk near Geeveston reopened on February 29 – 13 months after severe bushfires damaged structures and trees on the site.

The Tahune Airwalk after the devastating January 2019 bushfires ripped through the area.

The stairs were completely rebuilt and the airwalk underwent a major makeover.

But Tahune Adventures director and owner Ken Stronach on Monday announced the attraction had been closed due to coronavirus.

“Following all the work and effort over the past year … to prepare Tahune Adventures for reopening after the devastating 2019 bushfires, it is now with a heavy heart that I have to announce that we are again forced to close our doors,” he said.

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“Our iconic airwalk, the visitor centre and other aspects of the site are such that the latest social distancing regulations, enhanced hygiene requirements, the ever expanding knowledge on transmission and lingering capacity of this virus on surfaces internally and externally make it socially irresponsible for us to stay open, potentially threatening the health and safety of our valued staff and visitors.”

Sustainable Timbers Tasmania and the Tahune Adventures team spent more than a year preparing the site so it could be reopened. Picture: SUSTAINABLE TIMBER TASMANIA

Mr Stronach told the Mercury he would have to stand down about 30 staff members, some of which have been with him “all the way through” the bushfire clean-up and rebuild.

“I feel sorry for the staff who were with us the first time around and are now out of work again, as well as the new staff who have been in training and on the books for five or six weeks,” Mr Stronach said.

“I have no choice in the matter. We simply can’t survive and pay wages without cashflow.”

The Tahune Airwalk before the bushfires. Picture: SUPPLIED/PRINCESS CRUISES

Mr Stronach labelled his team the “heart and soul of the business” and said he was hopeful they would return to work for him once the coronavirus crisis eases.

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In 2018, Tahune Adventures attracted about 85,000 visitors.

Mr Stronach described himself as the “supreme optimist” and said he trusted the state’s tourism industry would “be back bigger and brighter than ever when this threat subsides”.

“I’m definitely a glass half-full person,” he said.

“We have a fantastic tourism industry, we punch well above our weight in terms of what we offer and I’m confident we will come out the other side of this.”

Construction at the Tahune Adventures site, including on the Swinging Bridges and Huon Pine walks, is expected to be completed by late winter.